For all new parents to Drexel University, welcome to our Dragon family! My name is Kathryn Warlick, and I serve as the Chair of the Drexel Family Association. With both children now at Drexel University, our family continues to love all things Drexel! There is such an evident excitement in the fall, when so many of our new and returning students begin again.
I will share with you that I am surprised to see five years fly by, and now unbelievably, I am looking at my daughter’s last year in the nursing program. I am so proud of her, and cannot wait to watch her, along with the myriad of opportunities and successes at Drexel that are evident in each stride up to the stage, graduate in May, and take her confident place in this world and her future. I also am especially grateful to have a few more years with the Dragons as my son returns for his sophomore year in the engineering program!
Just a couple of weeks ago, I was standing on Lancaster Avenue, looking at the STAR Scholars Program projects displayed on the easels, and our first-year students waiting for anyone walking by to share their summer research with. And as I walked, listened, and spoke with our extremely knowledgeable and impressive, first year students, I was struck by how even one year at school can so clearly forecast a meaningful, substantial and joyful future through the knowledge and passion of our students, grown through the opportunities Drexel offers.
Belonging to a community helps to learn how to build a meaningful life full of joy. It was just last month, as our new students experienced Welcome Week, that they took their first steps into truly understanding the gift you as parents are giving them. I believe that belonging in a school community means grasping each opportunity that stands in front of us and is the beginning of our students’ growth. Learning how to live meaningfully, making choices, picking clubs or activities, getting to class, attending meetings, studying, making friends, building relationships with faculty, being of service and finding help are all things our students may do in the next weeks to come.
But, is that feeling of belonging to something greater than yourself, that sense of even ownership over yourself and one’s environment, a passive experience? Or, is belonging actively grown as well? Can our students be encouraged to take some risks, try different experiences, look for and appreciate differences, enjoy diversity and opposite views than they hold, and maybe even appreciate being out of their own comfort box once in a while? I submit to you that it is through our work of choosing the new and different, understanding others’ opinions who also belong, hearing all points of view (even if we don’t agree) and being of service to your community that helps us begin to grow a meaningful life and allows us to live joyfully while handling confidently life’s challenges.
It is through the beauty of understanding that our commonality begins.
What better place for our students than Drexel University, where our Dragons will be challenged each day with experiences reinforcing Drexel’s commitment to the community and world, rigorous education, organizational excellence, fast and knowledgeable responses to concerns and institutional adaptability to changing times will keep our students safe and learning? Most importantly, it is my sincere hope that you and your students know there is a solution for each problem, someone to talk to, seek help from, plan courses with and guide their experiences. Chloe and Jack are encouraged to reach out and become a part of the myriad of opportunities available, and work with the community to become a part of it. And, while there may be challenges, there is such hope and joy in knowing our students are navigating their own educational landscape, and that there is such support for them!
I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss a bit about Drexel’s cooperative program. We can agree the experiences of co-op is the hallmark of a Drexel education. I wish I knew in the beginning of this process that there are many options for co-op, and that any experience is a good experience! Apply for as many positions as one can, and take advantage of the Drexel administration, and many academic advisors, co-op advisors, and the Steinbright Career Development Center for help and support! Encourage your student to sit with their co-op advisor and ask questions, find help for a résumé, and learn how to use the system available for maximum results. The support system can work creatively and all over the world in order to help your student find a co-op. My daughter’s first co-op wasn’t what she wanted, but it ended up being exactly what she needed! She learned to adapt, commute, work in the city and persevere despite some challenges, and received a fabulous learning experience and will be working in her dream job after she graduates!
Please know that Drexel University is a unique learning experience on the quarter system! The pace of learning is quite fast on a 10-week system, and students need to be organized and ready to learn from their first day! Your student needs to check their email at least daily if not more for expectations and information. The support system includes professor accessibility, the Center for Learning and Academic Success Services (CLASS) for academic support, and each student has four advisors — academic, coop/career, library liaison and Drexel Central (information for which can all be found via DrexelOne). Students may sign up for at least three sessions weekly for tutoring from a student and/or professor. This is excellent support that may start right at the beginning of the semester if needed.
The key here, in whichever learning system we are in, is that your student needs to reach out to the support system! Sometimes parental support may be necessary to have something done; however, encourage your student to try the options available themselves before resorting to that measure, since our students are “driving their own experiences!” To assist parents in support of their Drexel Dragon, Drexel Student Success offers the Drexel Family Portal, which is a great resource and you may sign up now!
I hope to see you on campus at some point during our Dragon’s experiences, and have already greeted many of you at the Student Resource Fair! We are always stronger as a community, and if nothing else, we, and our students, are growing our skills for building a meaningful life with joy, and we belong now, to this fabulous, diverse community. The world counts on us to serve with joy those in our community, and grow our students’ skills, which are intrinsic to their navigating future journeys and experiences, foreign or domestic, graduate school or corporate job. Encourage your student to take advantage of every opportunity to come their way and find what makes them happy! Four or five years from now, our Dragons will know how to build a meaningful life for themselves, with community, our families, our country and the world’s well-being ever in mind. Welcome to the Dragon family!
Kathryn Warlick