Wash Your Hands

It’s hard not to get caught up in the panic of corona these days. I just found out that my daughter is coming home from college for the semester-her school has decided to transition to 100% online instruction. So instead of performing her own chemistry labs, she will be watching someone else perform the lab and analyze what they are doing. Instead of rich discussions about intricacies of cells with her classmates, she will be home with us talking about other not so smart things. She is disappointed that she will learn this way. But here is the truth that I learned from our conversation that happened only 14 hours ago. In a few short months she has fallen in love with her school-this campus has become her home, her neighbors and roommates have become her family. This is her place. The camaraderie of college, the experience of being surrounded by like-minded students that are passionate about varied subjects, has brought breadth and depth to her learning. As parents, we desire this for our children–for them to find their place where their addition adds some little gift to the community they will call home for 4 years.

For my girl, it started with self-awareness in high school-she took the time to know who she was and what she wanted from her education. Finding her fit took time and planning. I use this experience with my own kid every time I work with a new student and together with my colleague, Lynn, we have developed a curriculum that gets to the heart of what a student wants from their future.

Let’s not leave it to chance–college is too big of an investment these days to not be in a place where you belong. Encourage your sons and daughters to be intentional about college planning and to invest time thinking about what they want for their future.

And one last thing...remind them to wash their hands.