“College is about 3 things: homework, fun, and
sleep…but you can only choose 2.”
So begins the first chapter of The Voice of College, a fun and useful primer on the college experience.
Authors Kipp Van Dyke and Michael Severin met as orientation leaders during their own time as undergraduates, and went on to hold various Student Affairs [...]
For a lot of students, coming to a college or university is the first time they’ve encountered difference in their life. It is the first time they are aware they are encountering difference. Perhaps it is their Resident Assistant who identifies as an atheist, or maybe it’s their classmate with a physical disability, or maybe their professor speaks with a “non-American” accent. Regardless of what the difference is, many students struggle through these changing experiences.
Many students experiment with ongoing experiments in re-creating themselves, so it shouldn’t shock parents when the child they leave behind in August comes back at Thanksgiving with a tattoo, different colored hair, a major change in lifestyle or even surprising pronouncements about religion, politics, sexual orientation, etc. How parents can be supportive, even when they don’t understand.
Sean Cook has 15 years of experience working in Higher Education, as a Student Affairs Professional. He is a Certified Life and Career Coach through the Life Purpose Institute, a program accredited by the International Coach Federation. Sean also writes about career issues in higher education for our companion site, HigherEdCareerCoach.com and is a periodic contributor to the Student Affairs Collaborative Blog.