Belated Happy Father’s Day to all our Deac dads, stepdads, granddads, and all the special men in our students’ lives. We hope it was a great day for you.
For our P’23 new families, the New Deac Week (aka Orientation) brochure has been made into a PDF; see it here. If you are more of an app person, go to your app store and type in “WFU Orientation Programs” and you will see the app. On a laptop/desktop computer or unsupported mobile device, visit https://guidebook.com/guide/136098/to access the schedule. Helpful hint: choose the SCHEDULE BY TRACKS option, then select Parents & Families (which will show you the activities meant for you), or the First Year (which is what your students will be doing).
I heard a current upperclass student tell a story at a New Student Reception last week that bears repeating. This person talked about how at the start of their first year, there was a student that they hadn’t really given the time of day to – this other student just seemed so different and not like them. And during second semester, they came across this student and somehow got to talking, and they became best friends.
My New Student Reception student encouraged all our incoming students to be open to people you think you have nothing in common with – because you never know where you might find your best friend. This is certainly important for our first-year students to hear, because getting your roommate assignment can be a time of high stress if you somehow see that person’s social media profile and think that they are not a good fit with you because of their [insert characteristic here].
But it is a good reminder to all our other students as well, no matter the year. If you just hang out with people who are from where you are from, or who think like you, or hold the same political opinion or faith or taste in music or whatever, you are missing out on meeting people who could be even better friends to you, if you just gave them the chance.
That’s your wisdom this Monday. Make it a great week, Deac families!
