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Parent to Parent Email Newsletter

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Greetings from Ouachita!

Important Dates

 

Greetings from Ouachita! We're happy to send another edition of our electronic newsletter for the parents of our prospective students for next fall.

As we begin 2008, those of us on campus are looking ahead to the beginning of the spring semester. Registration is scheduled for January 15 and classes will begin the next day.

Today, I want to introduce you to an important member of our administrative team, Dr. Keldon Henley, vice president for student services.

After you read his comments below, if you have questions about any aspect of campus life, you may reach him via e-mail at henleyk@obu.edu.

We will continue to remember your family in our prayers as we begin this new year.

Rex M. Horne, Jr.
President
Ouachita Baptist University

Social and emotional adjustment to college

In the heat of mid-August, hundreds of new students will converge on a tree-lined campus on the bank of the Ouachita River. They will bring all the essentials of life with them...computers, cell phones, and PlayStation 3's. Along for the ride will be moms and dads, dispensing last-minute advice, scrutinizing roommates, and assisting in the chore of squeezing the contents of two U-Haul trailers into a residence hall room.

But the real work begins after the parents leave. Intertwined with such tasks as learning the quickest route to Wal-Mart and finding the best way to affix posters to concrete walls will be other less-obvious but infinitely more important tasks: choosing friends wisely, communicating effectively with a roommate, and finding a balance between social involvement and over-commitment. There are emotional tasks as well: dealing with homesickness, managing new-found independence, and facing the stresses of a challenging academic environment.

The social and emotional tasks may seem a bit daunting, but take heart...there are several factors working to your son or daughter's benefit.

First, you as a parent have spent almost two decades preparing your son or daughter for this transition. You have loved, guided, advised, reproached, and prayed them to this point in life. The lessons you have taught may not always be followed precisely, but it is unlikely that they will be forgotten.

Second, by choosing Ouachita, your son or daughter has chosen an excellent "laboratory" in which to continue to develop as a young adult. He or she will be in an environment where faith will be encouraged to grow and deepen. There are countless exceptional models among Ouachita students and faculty of individuals living lives firmly rooted in their Christian faith, lives characterized by honor, integrity, vision and service. Your student will not have to look far to find encouragement, support, and friendship.

Third, we will do our very best to make certain your student feels welcome and comfortable at Ouachita. Even now, upperclassmen are making plans for WOW (Welcome to Ouachita's World), our new student orientation. After arriving on campus, your student will participate in three days of orientation designed to help him or her connect with the university community. In those days, we'll answer questions, make innumerable introductions, and generally try to give your student the best start possible.

Finally, remember that your family's role is vital in helping to make the transition to college a success. Research indicates that the emotional support that the family gives to the student is essential for college success. Your son or daughter needs your encouragement and your listening ear, especially when the circumstances of a particular day have led him or her to feel frustration, loneliness, or doubt.

For most students, social and emotional adjustment problems are temporary and are soon lost in the excitement of college life. In fact, some parents may have their own feelings hurt by just how quickly their son or daughter makes the transition from life at home to life at college! If you feel, however, that your student is not adjusting well, I hope you will contact me or another faculty or staff member. An early contact may increase your student's chances of success.

We will look forward to seeing you on that hot, August move-in day. And remember to not stuff the U-Haul too tightly. Your student's roommate may want to bring a few things, too.

Keldon Henley
Vice President for Student Services

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