I am a planner, so existing in this space of chaos and uncertainty is a struggle right now. I imagine you also have a lot of questions about what the future holds. With so many uncertainties, the one thing that I am certain about is the strength of this community.
From student groups like Active Minds who immediately stepped up to ensure their peers had a virtual space to discuss the mental health needs of students, to the UP mom who offered to give rides to other students during move-out if they didn’t have a car, to the professors who stepped out of their comfort zones to transition to online teaching within a matter of days, to the over 75 staff members who banded together to make this time special for our seniors by assembling Commencement boxes, to the Nursing alumni on the front lines treating COVID-19 patients with care and dignity, to the Student Affairs professionals who worked quickly to ensure that students continued to have access to the same services and support virtually, the UP community has shown up for one another. Honestly, it has been a challenging time – we’re working in imperfect conditions with limited knowledge of what comes next – but we’re all waking up each day and striving to do our best.
None of this would be possible without our UP families, so thank you. Thank you for your strength, resilience, patience, and kindness throughout the past academic year. Whether your student wrapped up the semester at home with you or not, you have been the catalyst, the never-ending support, and the foundational strength that they have drawn upon to succeed. Your support not only makes a positive difference in the life of your student, but it impacts the University overall.
Whenever I get asked what I do for work, I am often stumped on how to explain my job. I work with college parents? It isn’t necessarily the job I dreamed about having as a kid, but it is a job I have come to love and embrace over the past 3 years. I have the pleasure of working with UP families in several capacities – events, communications, developing resources, one-on-one support, and more. I have sat and shared meals with some of you at events such as Family Weekend, been inspired by the journey that led your family to UP, cried with a mom as she shared the struggles her student was facing, and laughed with a dad as he reminisced on how much UP has changed since his own time on The Bluff. Every day is different, but I am always proud to be a resource and advocate for you.
As we head into summer, please know that our office is still open and ready to support you. We will continue communicating with you via this newsletter and other important updates. The rest of UP is also “open,” even if remotely, and available to support your student.
So that we can continue to serve our UP families with the most helpful and relevant information, please take a few minutes to complete a brief survey about our UP Parent newsletter and other communications.
While many things have been lost during this time, what remains is the steadfastness and strength of our community rooted in UP’s mission of supporting our students and developing their minds and hearts.
Katie Seccombe
Associate Director, Parent Engagement