易胜博官网 President Jim Dean's back-to-school advice

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

易胜博官网 President Jim Dean
易胜博官网 President James "Jim" Dean

Wildcat Parents recently reached out to President James 鈥淛im鈥 Dean Jr. and asked him to share a few bits of advice from both his experiences as a parent and his years as an educator and university administrator. President Dean agreed. Here are his thoughts for parents of college students, in his own words.

Colleges are wonderlands of opportunity for students to learn both inside and outside the classroom.听They will literally never have this kind of opportunity again.听Encourage your student to take full advantage of what the university has to offer.听

"Express confidence to your student that they will be successful, but encourage them to ask for help when they need it."

In 鈥淗amlet,鈥 when Laertes was going back to school in France, his father Polonius famously told him, 鈥淭his above all: To thine ownself be true.鈥 I can鈥檛 improve on that advice.听Encourage your student to remember the values they have learned in your family and not to abandon them easily because other people have other values.

Express confidence to your student that they will be successful, but encourage them to ask for help when they need it. Virtually no one gets through college without some struggle, and it is one important place when you learn to work through challenges.听Let your student make the inquiries and investigate options rather than do it for them.

Photographer: 
Jeremy Gasowski | 易胜博官网 Marketing | jeremy.gasowski@unh.edu | 603-862-4465
Producer: 
Jennifer Saunders | Communications and Public Affairs | jennifer.saunders@unh.edu | 603-862-3585