August 15 Weekly Message for New Families

Bottom Line, Up Front

  • How families can sign up for Campus Security Alerts 
  • Move-in Guide 
  • Question about airports and shuttles
  • Finding your student’s PO Box number
  • Talk to your student about how they manage their online privacy
  • Family Weekend event and football tickets
  • Emotions you might be experiencing as we approach move-in
  • Top 5 tips for new families for the first month of school
  • Families of musical Deacs – encourage your student to consider auditioning for Wake Choirs
  • ICYMI
    • Ensure your student checks their DEAC account for balances
    • Ensure your Deac has registered their mobile number for campus alerts

Dear parents and families of incoming students,

We’re coming down to the finish line with our weekly emails sharing FYIs, due dates, and other important information for you as your student gets ever closer to Move-In. (In case you missed last week’s message, it is archived here).

How families can sign up for Campus Security Alerts

We have a new process this year for how we advise families of safety alerts: Campus Safety Alerts will no longer be sent to families via email; families must download the WakeSafe app:

  • Search for and download the WakeSafe app on your mobile device in the app store
  • You will see a popup asking you to Allow Notifications. Tap Allow.

Once you have downloaded WakeSafe and enabled notifications, If a campus alert is issued, you will receive a notice on your mobile device.

How to verify you are correctly set up to receive alerts on your mobile phone:

  • In your Settings, go to WakeSafe and ensure that you have selected Allow Notifications (we encourage you to select Immediate notifications and to allow both Sounds and Badges).

Move-in Guide 

As move-in approaches, you will have a lot on your mind. To help you prepare for the experience and know what to do, we sent this move-in guide via email late Thursday. Please be sure you read this comprehensive, step-by-step guide so you are fully prepared when you arrive on campus re: check in, parking, unpacking, and more.

Question about airports and shuttles

Several families have asked me about which airport to fly into, and where Wake offers airport shuttles. There are shuttles to Greensboro and Charlotte at designated times a year, but not all the time. There is no shuttle service to Raleigh/RDU (Raleigh-Durham airport). 

This same website has info for a private car service the University recommends for students who need shuttle service outside of the times our shuttles run. When families ask me, I always tell them my preference as a student was to fly into Greensboro, because it is so much easier (and less expensive) to get to campus from Greensboro than from Charlotte or Raleigh. Even if you save money on the flight, ground transportation from Charlotte or Raleigh to W-S is quite costly.

Students who fly into Charlotte or Greensboro at a time when our shuttles are not running (or are fully booked) find alternative transportation, whether that is going with a friend, using a private car service, Uber, etc. Every family will need to make the choice that works for them.

Finding Your Student’s PO Box Number

  • Students can find their PO Box number by logging into WIN > Directories > Internal Directory and then searching for their own name.
  • Instructions on how to address mail and packages to students can be found on our Mail Services website.
  • Please note: there are different zip codes used for US Postal Service (27109) and UPS/FedEx/DHS (27106). It is not a typo; those two zip codes are correct depending on which carrier you use.

Talk to your student about how they manage their online privacy 

Students can control the information that is shared in our internal directory in WIN (accessible with a WFU login and ID). Students may wish to share certain information about themselves in our internal directory, but they may not wish to share other information. 

Students have the ability to control whether their cellphone number, residence hall location, and other information appears in our internal directory. Instructions are available here. 

Family Weekend event and football tickets

General event tickets

  • If you have not already registered for Family Weekend general event tickets, please visit their website and register.
  • Many of the events involving a meal are sold out (or close to sold out) but don’t let that worry you! For your students, one of the highlights of Family Weekend is having their loved ones take them out to eat 🙂 and our upperclass families have provided a list of local restaurants they love. Check out the list and consider making reservations at the spot(s) of your choosing (if applicable).

For football tickets: 

  • Please visit the Athletics website to purchase football tickets and parking. NOTE: if your student wants to sit with you, you will need to purchase a separate ticket for them. There are less than 1,000 seats available for this game, so don’t wait!
    • To inquire about PREMIUM SEATING OPTIONS, call the ticket office at 336-758-3322 ext 1 or email hobanj@wfu.edu.
  • The Demon Deacons will face off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, September 23. 
  • We will know kickoff time about 10 days before the game (due to the potential for television scheduling).

Emotions your family might be experiencing as we approach Move-In:

Here are some observations I have made from many years of watching students move in to Wake. The family dynamics and emotions of move-in are very real, and different students/families react in different ways.

  • Understand your student may act a little differently – they might be excited, or nervous, or trying to put on a brave face, or they may want to act independently in getting all the business of preparing for college taken care of. You might feel like they are distancing themselves from you – or the opposite, they are more clingy. Every student handles the hustle and bustle of the college transition differently. Be there with a supportive hug when needed, and let your student have their distance when needed.
  • Understand that you might feel sadness or anxiety at the prospect of letting them go (or, conversely, guilt that you are not feeling terribly sad).
    • If you are worried about leaving them at college, remember that you have done this before: you left them at daycare or kindergarten. You left them at camp. You left them with a babysitter, or with grandparents/family to go on a vacation without them. You let them drive off in the car that first time. Think back through all those micro-goodbyes and remind yourself that you lived through 100% of those goodbyes. That’s not to say it won’t be sad; it may well be. But if you can, focus on the fact that it may also be exciting, and this is what’s supposed to happen. Our kids are supposed to grow ever more independent, and college is one step in that journey.
    • And if you are not feeling as sad as you think you should be, give yourself permission to feel what you feel. There is no right or wrong way to feel as you send your student off to college – there’s only what’s right for you. You may be looking forward to having more time and space to yourself, or taking on new projects or opportunities as an empty nester. And that’s OK!!

Top 5 Tips for New Families for the first month of school

I like to share this with new families every year. Here are some things to think about for the first month or so of school:

The transition to college/feeling at home takes at least a full semester, if not a full year – so do not panic if your Deac is 3 days/weeks/months in and it doesn’t feel perfect yet. Sense of belonging takes time and effort on students’ part – getting involved in clubs and organizations, meeting lots of people, etc. Students will get out of it what they put in it – so urge them to get involved and put themselves out there.

Bumps in the road are normal and to be expected. College is harder than high school, so your student might have to work/study differently. BUT we have tons of resources: office hours, free tutoring, advisers, faculty and staff who care – students just have to let us know they need help! There can also be bumps in the road re: friend groups, struggles to find your place, etc. All of these uncomfortable moments are a normal part of the college transition.

Parents and families will serve your student best if you maintain a “consultant” role (where you listen and give emotional support, but not answers). While they are at college, in most cases, your STUDENT should be the one to do the work, make the call, ask the question, research the website, give the feedback, take ownership, etc. Why do I say this? Your problem solving skills are already well-developed. This is their time to build their skills. And remember that your student calling you to vent frustrations is NOT an automatic call to action for the family: 99% of the time, they are venting to their safe people – you – and as soon as they hang up, they feel better for having vented.

Remind your students to treat their friends-at-other-colleges’ social media accounts with a high degree of skepticism. People tend to post pictures of themselves when they are having the most fun, they look great, are surrounded with 10 friends, everything is amazing, etc. – not when they feel lonely, are trying to find someone to eat lunch with, or wondering what they will do when it’s Friday night and they don’t have plans yet. Your student may think their best high school friend at [Insert College Name] is having a waaaay better time than they are based on their Instagram, but remember Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok etc. are heavily-curated. The bumps in the college transition hit every student at every college. The grass isn’t greener at [Other School].

Encourage your Deac to take care of themself. In order to bring their best self to their schoolwork, their relationships, etc., they need adequate sleep, some healthy food, and moderate exercise. Self-care is critical, and make sure you remind your Deac to invest in their wellbeing.

Urge your students to be very cautious at the start of the academic year about underage drinking. In every college town in the USA, local law enforcement know when move-in is and are on the lookout for underage drinkers. Here is a link to my advice to families of new students where drinking is concerned.

This is a transition year, but it can still be a great year for new students. It just won’t all fall into place on Day 1 (or 5 or 10). You must trust me about this.

Families of musical Deacs – encourage your student to sign up for Wake Choirs

All students are invited to join Wake Choirs this semester! Sopranos, altos, tenor, and basses—find your community through this incredible opportunity to create beautiful music and express yourself. Beginners to advanced, there’s a place for YOU! Encourage your Deac to sign up / register today and to become a valued part of the Wake Choirs family!

ICYMI

Parting thoughts

We leave tonight for Raleigh to drop off our kiddo at his college tomorrow (NC State). Big time emotions in my family! [sniff, sniff]

And we have one more Weekly Update coming to you next Tuesday. Please know that we can’t wait to see you and your Deacs on campus very soon!

Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (‘92, MA ‘94)
Executive Director of Family Communications

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