Encouraging Your Student in a Pandemic

College is not easy and in a lot of ways, is not designed to be easy.

Now imagine starting college during a pandemic… online. Words like isolation, social distancing and antigen testing become familiar terms and part of our normal vocabulary. Meanwhile, for college students across the country this becomes a new way of life.

For many first year college students, the Fall semester was a period of learning how to learn in an online format. For my freshman son, it has been a time to sharpen his organizational skills and technical proficiency in this new virtual university.

It has not always gone smoothly for him. On several occasions I found myself on nighttime video chats, helping him navigate a technical challenge or assignment he didn’t understand. I didn’t always have the answers, but somehow my being there on screen seemed to be the help he needed to figure out his own solutions.

During finals I had worried how my son would prepare absent in-person study groups and networking with new classmates. It was a stressful time for sure, but really all I could do was stand by and offer encouragement in small ways that spoke to his heart. In my son’s case, this was through a hot bowl of Raijin Ramen, a surprise delivery of Insomnia Cookies and of course, encouraging words.

I have learned a lot about being a parent of a college student during my son’s first semester in this pandemic and offer this advice:

• Check-in with your student regularly
• Listen
• Encourage

While I quietly celebrate my son’s resiliency during his first year in college, I want him to know that I believe in him and that I am cheering him on as he continues to learn and grow though his college journey.