Welcome New Families
Congratulations and welcome to our Zag/Bulldog Family!
We are pleased that your student chose Gonzaga University as the place to continue his or her education. Please let me take this time to introduce myself. I am Amy Swank, and I direct the Office of Parent and Family Relations.
At Gonzaga University, we believe that parents and families are critical to the developmental success of their student. When families are informed about university procedures and services, they can be instrumental in helping their student deal with a challenging situation or dilemma he or she may experience. With this in mind, we have established many ways for you to stay connected while your student grows into adulthood.
The next few weeks will be busy and stressful. College is often a time when students are excited about their new freedoms and at the same time, nervous about how they establish their identities and values in a whole new environment. As you prepare for your student to leave home for Gonzaga, set aside some time to talk with them about your expectations, and what they should expect of themselves. This is a time when students learn to care for themselves on their own. Our students will be expected to attend class, eat well-balanced meals, and manage the tasks of day to day life. The days of relying on others are drawing to a close; while we will help guide and advise your student, we are striving to develop independent and capable citizens.
This is also a great time to talk with your student about what s/he expects from the college experience, as each new Zag’s expectations may be quite different from each other. We encourage you to talk to your student about challenging subjects such as alcohol use and abuse, partying and sexual assault. While these issues do not occur any more frequently on Gonzaga’s campus than any other campus nationwide, they do exist. Now is a great time to talk with your student about how to make positive choices that will help them avoid unsafe, dangerous, or irresponsible situations.
At Gonzaga we pride ourselves in developing our students’ full potential. Learning to navigate life’s challenges is certainly part of developing this potential. It might be difficult to watch your student face difficulties, but college is the perfect time to learn how to solve their own problems. We are not suggesting that you sit on the sidelines over the next four years, but we do encourage you to seek out ways that you can “guide from the side.” Encourage your student to take responsibility for all aspects of his/her Gonzaga experience, but also let them know you’d like to stay involved in those decisions. I encourage you to be an active part of your student’s experience here.
You can stay connected to your student’s experience through the monthly e-newsletter (http://blogs.gonzaga.edu/parents/) published through our office; you can access this newsletter through our website, www.gonzaga.edu/parents, along with lots of other helpful information and updates for families.
Also, please plan on attending our Parent & Family Orientation August 30th all families need to register. https://commerce.cashnet.com/GUPFO
We understand that there are many things on your list for you and your student to do before the start of school. Please give me a call or drop me an email if you have a question or need any help. See you at Orientation Weekend!
Sincerely,
Amy Swank
Director
swank@gonzaga.edu
509.313.4154
Parent and Family Relations