Advice to parents: Summer is coming!
Spring is a busy time for students. They are finishing up the year — and preparing to head into summer to begin summer jobs, do mission work, take classes, study abroad, prepare for graduate school, or begin their careers. This brings new experiences for your student and your family.
We asked parents of current and past SPU students for their advice for summer. Here’s what they had to say:
“It was a hard transition for us not having our son back home all day, because he needed to work full time through the summer. Historically we would take long family trips together, but that became difficult to schedule since it was hard for him to get a solid week of vacation. To accommodate, we focused on weekend trips, as well as short bike rides and such during weekday evenings.”
— Parent of a senior (Music major)
“My advice is to be open to adjusting to your student’s independence, preferences, and opinions. It’s an interesting election year, so there might be different conversations about politics. Maybe a professor has impacted your student’s life, and now he is a vegan! Ask lots of questions and be a good listener so you can keep pace with what is happening during this busy, formative time of life.”
— Parent of a senior (Engineering major)
“Summer break has been different every year. We have two in college, one at SPU and one in Colorado. Our son took a gap year; our daughter started as a freshman. After their freshman year, talk about college centered on their friends, social events, and a bit about classes. After their junior year, the conversation shifted to what they were learning, what they questioned, and what they were thinking about. We tried to listen and encourage, even if we didn’t always agree or understand!”
— Parent of a junior (Nutrition major)
“Expect some lethargy/exhaustion after Spring Quarter! Everyone is so tired from the final push to the end of the school year, the flurry to move out of the dorms, and late nights alternating studying and celebrating with friends one last time before dispersing for the summer. It can take a bit of time to find the new routine of summer after all the structure of the school year.”
— Parent of a 2014 graduate (English, Creative Writing major, with a Philosophy minor), and a junior (Political Science major)
“SPU does a wonderful job with Commencement and all the related events. We especially loved Ivy Cutting, a ceremony unique to SPU. It is a whirlwind of activities and high energy. Take advantage of these events; we got to meet our daughter’s friends and their families. In some cases, we were meeting again, since we had first met at Orientation four years earlier. It was a nice ‘bookend’ to our years as parents of an SPU student, now a graduate.”
— Parent of a 2012 graduate (Math and Physics major)
“Our daughter was fortunate to be able to participate in SPRINT during the summer. That experience was so profound that she returned to Sierra Leone to work for 18 months during her senior year. She completed her last couple of classes to earn her degree when she got back. It was not what we had expected, but the opportunity and path she chose was clearly best for her.”
— Parent of a 2009 graduate (Psychology major)
Day of Calling: “Heroic Leadership”
Each year, the School of Business, Government, and Economics hosts “Business as a Calling Day,” when students enjoy the opportunity to hear from a visionary business leader or entrepreneur — someone who understands and exemplifies deeper aspects of influencing culture through business.
This year SBGE welcomes Chris Lowney, a former Jesuit seminarian who served as managing director of J.P. Morgan & Co in Tokyo, Singapore, London, and New York until 2001. Since then, he has authored four books, including the bestselling Heroic Leadership. His most recent book is Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads.
Lowney currently chairs the board of CHI, one of the nation’s largest hospital and healthcare systems, with more than 100 hospitals in 19 states, and $23 billion in assets.
Encourage your student to attend this event! Admission is free, and your student can reserve a spot by emailing Gene Kim, interim director, Center for Integrity in Business.
Thursday, May 12
9–11 a.m. Keynote address by Chris Lowney: “Dirty Laundry, Dusty Shoes, and the Church Bell: Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis”
10:15–11 and 11:15–noon: Breakout sessions led by SBGE faculty
April is National Financial Literacy Month
Student Financial Services provides opportunities to help students gain financial tools that will help them manage their finances well.
- Winter Quarter we invited undergraduate students to participate in MoneyWise. Eight students received a $500 scholarship from SPU for participating in this program.
- Spring Quarter Student Loan Repayment and Exit Counseling sessions will be offered during the first two weeks of May. All students are welcome to attend!
We encourage you to join our efforts by discussing financial concepts with your student. Resources on a variety of topics are available on the SFS Your Money page. You may find it helpful to go through Financial Awareness Counseling with your student. This counseling provides excellent information about federal loans, including estimated repayment under various plans, as well as a variety of financial topics, such as budgeting, income and taxes, credit, and identity theft.
If you are a parent PLUS borrower, we also encourage you to review PLUS Counseling.
Watch this video on "Understanding Your Financial Aid," with Jordan Grant, assistant vice president of enrollment operations and Student Financial Services.
National Student Employment Week wrapup
During National Student Employment Week, SPU celebrated the valuable contributions that our students make to Seattle Pacific University and the surrounding community through their employment. SPU relies heavily on the wonderful work contributed by more than 900 SPU student employees to help many offices run more smoothly and efficiently. For the parents of these students and those who have jobs off-campus, know that we are immensely grateful for everything that your student does to help our campus and our wider community.
2016 Student of the Year winners
As part of National Student Employment Week, SPU recognizes student employees who have been nominated by staff members who appreciate their extraordinary work.
Off-campus Students of the Year
This year, two students stood out for their stellar contributions, so, to honor their work in the broader community, SPU is presenting both of them with Off-Campus Student Employee of the Year awards:
Sabrina Alvarez
As an office and communications assistant at Queen Anne Helpline, a social service nonprofit, Alvarez is responsible for client reception and assistance, scheduling, client intake, answering phones, maintaining the clothing bank and food pantry, data entry, and other tasks. She also assists with educational and informational print materials, social media outreach, and electronic newsletter production.
One of the nomination letters states that Alvarez brings passion and compassion to her social services work, and is driven by curiosity and a desire to learn. She has taken on a leadership role, making changes that increase efficiency. “We recently made an exception to our office policy,” says a coworker, “and now allow Sabrina to come and open up the office and spend one to two hours alone in the office preparing for the day.”
Alvarez’s most important contribution, according to the coworker, has been her service to their diverse clientele, which includes individuals who may be homeless or struggling with mental illness. Alvarez has “a calm and confident demeanor even in difficult situations, and her compassionate ear and reflective listening make everyone feel welcome.”
Sarah Jodway
Sarah Jodway’s work as a production assistant for Mass Mutual Financial Group involves her in client service and communication. She acts as a liaison with their national office and numerous product vendors; helps produce presentations and illustration materials for client meetings; and handles parts of scheduling, business processing, and tracking.
According to one of the nomination letters, “This is a complex and high-pressure environment, and she has proved capable of operating at an extremely high level during time periods that are busy enough to overwhelm most employees. She is intelligent, strong-willed, and completely reliable.” He compliments her fast-paced work, her accuracy, and how she solicits feedback. “This is of critical importance in the financial industry where so much is at stake,” he says. Because of her maturity and competency, customers and business partners are “shocked” to find out that Jodway is a college student.
Her abilities are such that Mass Mutual has been increasing her responsibilities. “It is probably fair to say,” says a coworker, “that she has set a new standard for what we believe a college student can accomplish in this position.”
On-campus Students of the Year
Michelle Bester
Michelle Bester works as an international student coordinator, assisting in planning and implementation of activities, training, and orientation for SPU’s international students, who require more service than typical domestic students, says Lori Honts Tongol, SPU’s coordinator of international student records. Bester provides answers and documents, and meets students’ needs with particular expertise because she is an international student herself. “She is “literally my ‘right arm,’ is extremely responsible, and works with professionalism and grace.” Bester also helped the team of student orientation leaders become stronger and more effective, and has displayed love and support during difficult moments.
In September, Bester spent 10- to 12-hour work days helping prepare SPU’s biggest-ever international student orientation. On New Student Orientation day, when a new student was detained by Customs and Border Protection entering the U.S., Tongol needed to attend to those sensitive matters instead of to the Orientation event. “Michelle effortlessly moved into the lead role directing students and staff in their duties,” says Tongol, “answering questions and ensuring our biggest event was flawless.”
Sophie Nelson, first runner-up
As a program assistant and office intern for Student Financial Services, Sophie Nelson assists with program processing, and serves as an initial point of contact for students, parents, and outside agencies with questions regarding federal, state, and institutional policy and procedure, as well as complex financial aid and student account systems. She analyzes detailed reports, creates and processes documents, receipts payments, and has assumed responsibility for projects when full-time staff are out.
SFS staff members Alicia Shocki, Kevin McKinney, and Donna McLynne nominated Nelson for her “positive attitude towards the tasks she is given, no matter how tedious or lackluster the project may be.” She works “with so much speed, efficiency, and accuracy, that we have a hard time keeping up with her at times.” Among Nelson’s large tasks are the receipting of regular student account payments and continuing education payments — which can total around a million dollars during peak payment periods.
SFS staff write that Nelson has become such an expert that she often responds to customers frustrated by confusing financial aid regulations or overwhelmed by the process. In these situations, Nelson calmly resolves the issue without a supervisor, “something that full-time staff sometimes struggle with.” If she is ill, she works remotely as much as possible. “We often joke that we do not know what we will do without her once she graduates, [and we] will need to clone her several times so that we can just keep hiring new Sophies for the internship position.”
Encourage your student and support SPRINT service and learning trips
SPRINT (Seattle Pacific Reach-out International) is a student-led international immersion service and learning program run by the John Perkins Center. This summer six teams will embark on trips — ranging from three to six weeks — to locations around the world.
As part of a SPRINT fundraising project, parents of students who live on campus received a letter inviting them to purchase a “Care Package” for their student. If you would like to purchase a care package, provide your student’s name and residence hall information on the tear-off sheet, and mail it with a check for at least $7. A package will be delivered to your student that includes various treats and your note of encouragement.
Any amount over $7 will be put into the SPRINT Scholarship Fund and will be awarded to students participating on SPRINT’s international immersion service and learning trips in the summer. During these trips, students partner with organizations and local leaders who are engaged in community development, and learn from their work in context.