Student Affairs

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RESOURCES
Clemson University recognizes college can be a big transition for families, and we want to help
prepare you the best we can. We have come up with some resources specifically to support you
and your family through your student’s time at Clemson. Below is a list of specific ways for you
to stay connected as a family:
Family Communication Resources
Note: publications listed below are available electronically at
• 2020-21 Family Experience Calendar
• Clemson Family Handbook
• Clemson Parent and Family Experience Portal
• Social Media:
and
• Family website:
Family Events
• Fall Family Weekend, Presented by Wells Fargo
• Spring Family Reunion
Family Staff
• Center for Student Leadership and Engagement
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
For most students (and parents), attending college can be an anxious time — exciting
but potentially overwhelming. No matter how prepared you think you are, you can still
experience anxiety. It is this anxiety that results in learning. Having the privilege of
participating in higher education is a transformative experience. It is a time for self-
exploration — exploring new interests, trying out new roles and responsibilities, meeting
people with whom you share common interests and also getting outside of your comfort
zone interacting with those different from you.
As a parent, understanding your student will experience changes in their identity,
intellectual abilities and values, and these changes are expected, will ensure a successful
transition for you both. Their transition will include periods of a honeymoon phase, cultural
shock, initial adjustment, mental isolation, and acceptance and integration. They will
struggle with questions:
“What am I to become?” (e.g., major, career paths); “Who am I to love?” (e.g., friends,
significant relationships); “What do I believe?” (e.g., beliefs learned by other influences or
their own beliefs); and “What do I stand for?” (e.g., ethics, principles and values that guide
one’s life). Each period may result in a student different to you as they work through these
and other developmental issues. While only three months separate a high school senior from
a first-year college student, these three months and the first semester are significant periods
of growth and change. Your student is learning how to be a college student. Orientation is the
start of our support for you in understanding these changes. You will be reminded of these
changes at Family Weekend, through divisional newsletters and from other communications
from the university. We encourage you to remain supportive of your student while they
manage their emotions, become autonomous, foster competence, develop relationships and
discover their purpose. At the end of their college journey, you will be amazed and proud of
the person and professional they will become.
CLEMSON UNIVERSIT Y
FAMILY WEEKEND