Mines Orientation

I checked with Nancy, and Ellen (she still hasn’t responded), about what happened to them when our parents took them to college. It was pretty much the same experience; ok, here we are, unload, hug good-bye, best of luck and then they headed back home. When I look back at my failed attempts at going away to both Snow College and Weber State, I realize that part of it was that I had no idea where anything was, how anything worked, or that I didn’t know any other soul at either of those schools. Another aspect was that I was incredibly homesick and my parents made a huge mistake by giving me a car.

Anyway, to help my daughter, not only with her college choice, but the plans to head out, we have tried to get her to feel very comfortable about her choices. We made Emily do all of her own applications, and then we did the campus visits. The campus visits sealed the deal, but because they had the option we also attended a summer orientation visit that Mines had this Friday. I’ll admit that I had originally planned to just drop her off, do a little shopping, come back and head back over the divide. But then my little miner admitted that she had forgotten her cell phone and her photo ID, so I decided I at least better hang around campus. It turns out that the orientation was for way more than just Emily.

All the other parents were there, and the entire day was planned around both student and parent. Maybe it’s because it’s a college full of engineers, or because Mines has dealt with the unique student body that is attracted to a school that PE doesn’t stand for physical education (its Petroleum Engineering). But, the day was spent going into germanesc detail about everything from the moving in process at the dorm (there is a flow chart on-line) to expectations of professors, to a seminar for the parents entitled “Letting them Grow”. I was amazed not only the detail that they went into explaining, but the resources that are available to students. Maybe, if I had had a college orientation like that I would have felt a little more at home, but I probably would still have found my way home, that’s why Emily isn’t taking a car with her….