Five Steps to Supporting Your Homesick Student
By: Center for Cura Personalis (CCP)
Adjusting to life at college can be a roller coaster for a majority of students. Balancing a new community, living with a roommate, taking college-level courses, and being away from home add complexities to the transition into the college environment. New students are now a month into their new adventure at Gonzaga and, in some cases, your student may have expressed feelings of homesickness and difficulties with their adjustment. Let’s lay out some steps you can take to support your student to help them build a more meaningful college experience and reduce homesickness.
Listen & Ask Questions
You are a part of your student’s support network. If your student shares about their homesickness, help your student process these feelings. Ask open-ended questions that require your student to think critically about the situation and how to solve it. While you may want to try to protect your student from these feelings, it is a great opportunity for you to empower your student to make personal changes.
Encourage them to get involved
An easy way for your student to build community is by getting involved at Gonzaga. Gonzaga offers a number of ways to engage on and off campus, including 140 clubs, intramural sports, volunteer opportunities, student government positions, outdoor adventures, and SpikeNites programming every Friday and Saturday night. While our Fall Club Fair is over, encourage your student to check out Zagtivities to see what is happening on our campus and find opportunities to engage with other students.
Minimize the guilt
You miss your student, but don’t add to your student’s sense of guilt for being away by reminding your student that life isn’t the same without them at home. Your student is feeling a variety of emotions and trying to move beyond homesickness. While we know you miss them, show them in other ways, i.e. send a care package, a letter, or an affirming text.
Moving past homesickness takes time
Remind your student that building friendships takes time and adjusting to life in college is not easy for most students. While we live in a world where we expect fast results, we need to be reminded that developing meaningful relationships requires work. Talk about how GU is a new chapter of their personal story that will have twists and turns they will need to navigate. This is just the first step and sometimes it takes time to find the right footing.
Reach out for help
Gonzaga employs a number of professionals who are here to educate and offer support to your student throughout their collegiate journey. If you worry about the well-being of your student, we encourage you to reach out for help. An office to start with would be the Center for Cura Personalis at (509) 313-2CCP or submitting a referral form about your student online here.