Summary: Join Institute for God Professors Jeff Sherrod, Laurie Kagay, and Gregg Garner as they explore the "summer melt" phenomenon where students accepted to college do not show up in the fall. Reasons discussed include lack of support, financial concerns, and desire to know roommates. Solutions suggested include creating media profiles and facilitating communication. Importance of developing friendships before college is emphasized, with advice on seeking support and guidance. Communication between students, parents, and counselors is key during the college application process, with emphasis on involving families and planning ahead for transitions.

S2E23: College Conversations Podcast - “What Is ‘Summer Melt’ & How Do I… Not?” (Transcript)

[00:00:10.69] - Jeff Sherrod

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to College Conversations podcast about all things related to Christian higher education. My name is Jeff Sherrod. I am joined by the president of GOD, Mr. Gregg Garner. And today, we have with us Mrs. Laurie Kagay.

[00:00:21.80] - Laurie Kagay

Hello

[00:00:23.10] - Jeff Sherrod

So in this podcast, we're talking about the phenomenon that is sometimes referred to as summer melt. So this is not just about being hot in the summer.

[00:00:32.24] - Gregg Garner

Bum bum bumm.

[00:00:33.07] - Jeff Sherrod

Tell us a little about summer melt.

[00:00:35.20] - Laurie Kagay

Yeah. If I could, like, easily describe Summer melt, I think it's, like, the college version of, like, getting cold feet. You know, people use that scenario when you get married or whatever. So I read this today. I think it's a good scenario to set the scene. This is from the Chronicle of Higher Education. And they say, consider, a high school student has been building a relationship with the college for months. The college has sent her brochures, emails, and websites depicting the very best the institution has to offer. When she had a question, she could call or email and get an attentive response. She was constantly reminded of the exciting experiences awaiting her once she set foot on the campus. Based on these interactions, she and her family put down a commitment of several hundred dollars. After May first, admissions takes a step back and begins the handoff process to other offices like housing, the health center, academic advising, and the business office. For the student, the interactions suddenly start to feel a lot less personal and more like she is stepping onto a conveyor belt with a lot of other students. Instead of looking forward to all the exciting things she gets to be a part of, she she is suddenly confronted with the reality of the not so fun things she has to figure out for the first time. So I think that did set a scene that I would say is typical for colleges. I don't know if that's necessarily our thing, but I do know, you know, the shifting of the seasons or the seriousness of things, you know, after graduation or, after graduation and things kind of, like, setting in. This is a real decision.

[00:02:01.70] - Gregg Garner

So the summer melt is a phrase that's used by colleges and universities to name the phenomenon that anticipated, students to attend in the fall during this end of the summer melt away and don't show up.

[00:02:17.19] - Jeff Sherrod

And this is accepted students. Right?

[00:02:19.00] - Laurie Kagay

This is accepted students. It's even

[00:02:20.69] - Gregg Garner

They were supposed to come to school.

[00:02:22.00] - Laurie Kagay

It’s even students who’ve already paid their deposit.

[00:02:23.30] - Gregg Garner

Yeah.

[00:02:23.59] - Laurie Kagay

Even sometimes registered for classes and never show up.

[00:02:27.80] - Gregg Garner

I was so happy to learn of this, not because it's a great thing, but to find out that it happened at other colleges. Because our meltdown usually doesn't happen until the with our students, I don't think we hardly ever have a meltdown before. It's like the first week when they move here, and then they're, like, moving in and seeing all the things. And they get overwhelmed with the schedule, and the next thing you know, they're like, I'm not ready for this, which it's only happened a few times over the last twenty years. But, as an institution, you feel bad. You're like, what what happened?

[00:02:58.80] - Laurie Kagay

What'd we do?

[00:02:59.69] - Gregg Garner

What'd we do? What's going on? So it's kinda nice to know that this sits outside the scope of any any institution. So if you're a college out there and you're like, “oh no why didn’t they didn’t show up?” You’re beating yourself up over it. It's apparently a universal phenomenon amongst college students, and it happens every summer. Are there any stats with respect to what percentage?

[00:03:16.80] - Laurie Kagay

So moderate stats are, like, between eight to ten percent of accepted, like, deposited students.

[00:03:25.00] - Gregg Garner

One of these big Christian schools who's gonna have a hundred and fifty students coming in, they could potentially have a dozen to fifteen of them not show up at all.

[00:03:33.30] - Laurie Kagay

Right.

[00:03:33.59] - Jeff Sherrod

Do you think that some of those students are going to like, they're just not telling the school, or do you think that they're just not showing up at all to any school?

[00:03:39.59] - Laurie Kagay

I mean, I have read one article today that just described them as no shows.

[00:03:42.90] - Jeff Sherrod

To probably any school.

[00:03:44.00] - Laurie Kagay

Right? Nothing. Yeah. They the studies I read or whatever, noted ten to twenty percent of colleges, specifically when it's in when dealing with, like, low income or minority students. And then even in some states like the Southwest District that includes Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, forty four percent. So they tied it specifically to, like, a lack of support. So, like, if your parents don't believe in you going to school

[00:04:16.00] - Gregg Garner

Cause then all this other kind of pressure.

[00:04:17.80] - Laurie Kagay

Right.

[00:04:18.19] - Gregg Garner

And especially when it's such a foundational relationship like your parents. Right? Trying to make this big life decision, your parents don't support it. That's it's hard to feel confident going into the future.

[00:04:27.10] - Laurie Kagay

So then yeah. I think the combination, like, they're the reality is setting in. I'm gonna have a real bill, and this is how much it is. And it's gonna be mine.

[00:04:35.69] - Jeff Sherrod

Because the deposit sometimes is only a couple hundred, it’s not in the thousands.

[00:04:40.69] - Gregg Garner

Well, I mean, schools specifically design it so that money on the way in is at is, like, not hard to come by.

[00:04:47.80] - Jeff Sherrod

Right.

[00:04:48.30] - Gregg Garner

So that they basically prevent any roadblock from attending. Right?

[00:04:52.50] - Laurie Kagay

Right.

[00:04:53.10] - Gregg Garner

Which is not a bad thing. It's actually it could be helpful for both parties. But it does make the jump.

[00:05:00.19] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah. When you start the bill, the whole thing.

[00:05:02.60] - Laurie Kagay

So, yeah, I'd imagine, like, this tied it specifically to low income. I'd imagine there's some of that, especially if, like, your parents didn't go to college, you know, to have the kind of encouragement to be like, this is normal. You know?

[00:05:13.10] - Gregg Garner

Like You're you're saying that if it was a a meltdown from a student or melt from a student that does come from a low income family, you're making the assumption that they're low income because they're not college educated, potentially.

[00:05:26.10] - Laurie Kagay

Sometimes there's a overlap there. Sometimes it's there's a, you know, sometimes there's a correlation. I'm not saying that’s the way it is.

[00:05:33.19] - Gregg Garner

Yeah, yeah I just wonder if that's the case these days because

[00:05:36.60] - Laurie Kagay

Well, that's what I was gonna say. I feel like even I mean, I had a visit this week.

[00:05:39.80] - Gregg Garner

Yeah.

[00:05:40.10] - Laurie Kagay

And the family was like, we're just really surprised by all this because we didn't encourage her to go to college at all. And this is all new to us. So for to me, what I'm seeing is, like, that parents and teachers and everything. You know, there's a growing distrust in higher ed. So it's I don't think authority. I don't think these days. Like, I think these are dated. Like, from what I'm seeing, I think it's much like broader than that. And, yeah, I mean, like, the student who visited recently is, like, very wealthy ZIP code area. You know? And it was like her educated parents were like, why would you do it? Why would you go to college?

[00:06:15.69] - Gregg Garner

Because that's what I was about to say. Like, a lot of educated families seem to make it a little more optional, where the uneducated ones feel like it's what has to happen.

[00:06:25.60] - Laurie Kagay

Like, now is your chance

[00:06:27.00] - Gregg Garner

This is how you get out.

[00:06:29.50] - Laurie Kagay

Right.

[00:06:29.80] - Gregg Garner

So it is interesting that, if the stats do reflect that, either they are antiquated or, there might be some other kind of social game happening. In all of that. We don’t need to be making a ton of assumptions. The stats are nonetheless that there's a significant portion of the anticipated school enrollment that melts out at the end of the summer.

[00:06:55.80] - Laurie Kagay

I'm not in this moment feeling that's the case with us.

[00:06:58.69] - Laurie Kagay

We don't we have, like I've had three visitor like, multiple visitors in a few days, in a week, like, the last several month. You know? And it's like, this is June when you would typically see a drop off. And we're not just seeing them for a future. We're seeing them for this fall.

[00:07:14.30] - Jeff Sherrod

I mean, maybe we could just start by talking about, like, what are some things that you think the college could do to help? Because it sound like even from the first scenario

[00:07:20.39] - Laurie Kagay

Yeah.

[00:07:20.60] - Jeff Sherrod

It sounded like, alright. You're with the admissions, the cool people. Right?

[00:07:24.60] - Laurie Kagay

And surely one that's gonna favor my department.

[00:07:27.50] - Jeff Sherrod

And then suddenly we get past to the not as cool people, the academic advisors.

[00:07:31.30] - Laurie Kagay

I think there is, like, a reality of, like, bills and students are young and or, like, you know, even just maybe some more transactional communications. Like, they may not know the student quite as well or here it may just be unfamiliar language in that scenario. I just thought it was an interesting little, you know, picture. But you're saying what can we do to help?

[00:07:54.80] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah.

[00:07:55.89] - Laurie Kagay

I know another, like, another stat that put out was that, like, I don't know. It's, like, eighty percent of Gen z wants to know their friends before they get to college. And I and I think that's, like, a huge difference from when we went to college.

[00:08:09.30] - Gregg Garner

Wow. Yeah I was super excited for, like, just the anonymity I could potentially experience.

[00:08:15.30] - Jeff Sherrod

Did you know anyone?

[00:08:17.19] - Gregg Garner

No. Not a single person.

[00:08:17.60] - Jeff Sherrod

No one. Right.

[00:08:19.30] - Laurie Kagay

I didn't know anyone.

[00:08:21.30] - Gregg Garner

No, and I didn’t even care.

[00:08:25.57] - Jeff Sherrod

No, I didn’t even think to ask.

[00:08:24.89] - Laurie Kagay

I mean, that time is changing. I think for us, we were like, it's part of the adventure. Like, you you go and meet everyone, and they are not that way.

[00:08:32.79] - Gregg Garner

So, I mean, this maybe you can even use this cast to, like, brainstorm some things that can be done. It might be cool to do, like, a, like, media profile of each coming student. They can even put it on them to create their own videos so that people can meet their roommates even before they do.

[00:08:53.50] - Laurie Kagay

I do think that's a big one.

[00:08:55.10] - Gregg Garner

Do, like, a Zoom meet your meet your housemates, kinda thing. And, just give them more contacts. Because if they're going to increase in a relationship, they've gotta be in contact, and they gotta be able to talk back and forth. Otherwise, it just doesn't happen.

[00:09:09.60] - Laurie Kagay

Right. That's that's definitely a big one. That's still probably the number one question I get from incoming students. Who's my roommate? When do I find out?

[00:09:16.89] - Gregg Garner

Who’s my roommate?

[00:09:17.20] - Laurie Kagay

I mean, that's, like, the urgent one.

[00:09:19.29] - Jeff Sherrod

When you try to facilitate Zoom meetings kind of throughout the year up until they move.

[00:09:23.00] - Laurie Kagay

Yeah. This year, especially, I was last year or a few years, I've I just learned springs are so busy for high school students. They have graduations. They have proms. They have final, you know, athletic events. And I was like, I just don't wanna pressure them to come here in March and May. Accept the student day. For, like, an accepted student day because it was just like their schedules are so packed. So, like, this year, I did a series of webinars. We've done some, like, understanding your financial aid model. This last one was how to prepare for a welcome week. But the it's nice because they are I mean, I have kids on there from Washington, from Pennsylvania, from Tennessee, you know, and they are at least getting to see each other's faces, having some moments.

[00:10:02.10] - Jeff Sherrod

Do they prefer that? Like, do they prefer like, maybe that's like a Zoom feels like definitely starting within, like, the kiddie pool, like, dipping your toe as opposed to jumping in. Because jumping in can even be like, I'm going across the country for an accepted student day for a weekend. And that can still feel like a little bit

[00:10:15.20] - Laurie Kagay

Like a lot?

[00:10:15.79] - Jeff Sherrod

Like a lot, maybe, socially.

[00:10:17.70] - Laurie Kagay

Is that what you mean? Like you can dip your feet in. Well, I’m trying to follow.

[00:10:20.39] - Jeff Sherrod

The Zoom meeting is more of, like, I'm gonna go in slowly to meet these people.

[00:10:23.50] - Laurie Kagay

I think kids who went through COVID tend to hate Zoom, but it is also, like, what we have. So, you know.

[00:10:31.39] - Jeff Sherrod

We don't need video platforms.

[00:10:32.89] - Laurie Kagay

I'm kinda using Zoom as video platform loosely. But I do think that's helpful to at least, like, try to foster some relationship of friendships.

[00:10:46.79] - Gregg Garner

Probably one of the the tools that we have at our disposal that really increases the chances of a student showing up in the fall is our summer program. And the fact that a lot of even incoming freshmen for us I think with our summer programming, there might be five to seven incoming freshmen that are involved in, like, global mission trips.

[00:11:09.70] - Laurie Kagay

Right.

[00:11:09.89] - Gregg Garner

And getting that experience of people is definitely a really great opportunity to develop friendships.

[00:11:16.70] - Laurie Kagay

I think so too. Because if you love it or you hate it, you're probably gonna love it. But if you hate it, you only took one summer.

[00:11:23.89] - Gregg Garner

Yeah.

[00:11:24.20] - Laurie Kagay

You know? Like and the development of friendships is just huge.

[00:11:27.79] - Jeff Sherrod

It's crazy. Yeah.

[00:11:28.70] - Laurie Kagay

So especially, like, right now, if you're, you know, a junior listening or whatever, that'd be a great thing to prepare for.

[00:11:34.29] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah. We've had even other incoming freshmen who maybe they haven't had the opportunity to travel abroad, but they'll come in for like, we do youth camps slam.

[00:11:43.10] - Gregg Garner

Yeah.

[00:11:43.79] - Jeff Sherrod

And then they'll be a participant for that week still.

[00:11:46.10] - Gregg Garner

And that'll be impactful.

[00:11:47.29] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah. Still meet a ton of people.

[00:11:48.70] - Gregg Garner

And that is some great advice too if there are juniors or parents of juniors. If you really wanna see your kid offload the stress of developing friendships. Which is, I think, psychologically, we gotta look into how much this has been emphasized with this generation connected to their sense of worth. Right? How many followers do you have? How many subscribers do you have? And ironically, those, demographics are called friends. How many friends do you have on these things? So, like, their idea of of friendship and friends wants to materialize into something visceral and tangible in people instead of, the the virtual people they're playing Fortnite with.

[00:12:35.70] - Jeff Sherrod

Right.

[00:12:36.10] - Gregg Garner

Right? And so it's like they may need an additional venue for developing that kind of friendship so that when they do attend school, they can concentrate on school.

[00:12:46.70] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah. It's helpful.

[00:12:47.50] - Gregg Garner

And I know for us, getting if you're a junior and you're gonna you want to go to, the institute, you should you should go on summer internship.

[00:12:55.89] - Laurie Kagay

Yeah. Like, start planning now.

[00:12:57.20] - Gregg Garner

Yeah. Start raising funds. Because it will it will ready you. You'll be settled.

[00:13:02.70] - Laurie Kagay

That is our yeah. That's the best Yeah. Thing that you can do. Your friendships will be, like, locked down.

[00:13:08.29] - Gregg Garner

Then you just not going to our school, find out something at the school that you wanna go to that, has some similar opportunity to really learn about the mission of the school and to in invest into relationships with like minded people who you'd be at school with.

[00:13:23.39] - Laurie Kagay

Yeah.

[00:13:23.60] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah. I almost wish I could you know, because sometimes people graduate high school, and then it's like that summer is, like, their last summer of me. And so they're like, I'm gonna I'm gonna do all my friends, and we're gonna go travel.

[00:13:34.79] - Gregg Garner

Summer of me every summer. Just decide that's what you want. Right.

[00:13:40.10] - Jeff Sherrod

But I think it's shortsighted. Like, you know, because you college itself is short. And if you can go in and really maximize your first year by developing some of these relationships, getting on mission, serving alongside some of the students you're gonna serve alongside. I mean, it'll change your whole trajectory moving forward. And so, yeah, maybe just rethink summer of me, and and, like, what’s the longterm benefit?

[00:13:59.89] - Gregg Garner

Right.

[00:14:00.10] - Laurie Kagay

Especially if you wanna be a disciple of Jesus. Right? Like, sow into the spirit in that way. Do the things that are of him.

[00:14:05.39] - Gregg Garner

Right.

[00:14:06.10] - Laurie Kagay

So that you can be ready.

[00:14:08.00] - Jeff Sherrod

So a student, let's say they're they're they're in this year and maybe that we I think that's great advice. You know, it's like, meet, serve alongside students that they're going going along with. What are some other things? Let's say a student is, listen to this. This is the middle of summer, and they're like, alright. I'm feeling some cold feet. What what would be some advice you would give?

[00:14:26.79] - Gregg Garner

I would say don’t be afraid to reach out to your school and tell them how you're feeling and what you're thinking. I think there's this, intimidation with Gen z concerning their interaction with authority figures. My daughter who who's in college, twenty one, she at one point, she was getting emails from the bursar. And the bursar, would sign off. And she actually didn't know what bursar meant or what was going on there. And then she she would just she'd be like, dad, Chelsea, the bursar has sent me another another email, and I I'm just ghosting her because I don't know what to do. And now I'm having anxiety, and I can't concentrate in class because I've gotten another email from Chelsea the bursar. And I was like, Genesis, you gotta understand here that this is a couple years ago, but I was like, you gotta understand here. So she was probably teenager, nineteen. Those are automated. They're all automated. Like, this is not actually coming from a person. It's coming from an automated process that signs off her name and is serving as a reminder to you. Like, let's look at the email. It says reminder up there. And she's like, oh, but I feel like she's mad at me. Like, I bet she doesn't even know that these reminders are impacting you in this way.

[00:15:43.00] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah.

[00:15:43.50] - Gregg Garner

She probably just thinks she's sending you something helpful, and she's automated. So she's not depending on herself to remember to get it to you. And but Genesis’ concern was, so she's not mad at me? You think she's fine? Yeah. And I was like, yeah.

[00:15:54.79] - Jeff Sherrod

One hundred percent sure.

[00:15:56.20] - Gregg Garner

She's not mad.

[00:15:57.10] - Laurie Kagay

Just like how your teachers are not mad at you when they give you a B.

[00:16:00.39] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah. Right. Like that.

[00:16:02.00] - Gregg Garner

Just like that.

[00:16:02.79] - Jeff Sherrod

You can get a B and still be a Christian.

[00:16:06.00] - Gregg Garner

Well, I guess my point is that if a young person learns to overcome whatever authority development they are lacking and just by faith engage the personnel at the institution they're going to attend, I think there'll be a lot of words of comfort. And a lot of direction, even some of it practical. I know that we've had students on the way where we've listened to them, and we agreed with them and and actually gave them the permission they needed to end their anxiety and said, it doesn't seem like the fall is a good time for you.

[00:16:37.10] - Laurie Kagay

Right. Mhmm.

[00:16:38.60] - Gregg Garner

Now they're like, thank you. And that's something that we can do. Any of us, any Bible college out there can do this for you, but you gotta be in communication. If you're not talking to people, nobody's gonna know what's going on inside of you.

[00:16:53.29] - Jeff Sherrod

Because, I mean, we've had students that the opposite happened. They were they were like, I don't know, and we just prayed with them. And they're like, man, I just needed someone to do that. And now I feel like I have this whole new energy going into this moment. I was like, yeah. Thanks for calling.

[00:17:05.40] - Laurie Kagay

That's what we're here for. Yeah.

[00:17:07.00] - Gregg Garner

Yeah. And and we sincerely are all we're all trying to make decisions in the best interest of the student. And for us Christian institutions, the will of God. So if we believe that you're a fit acknowledged by your acceptance, that right there should say a lot to the person. However, the distrust that exists could get a person thinking that just anyone gets accepted or that, like, acceptance doesn't translate over into their mind that the institution actually believes this is a great place for you. And I think that if you're listening, for a lot of us, maybe not every institution out there, but for a lot of us, you're accepted because we think this is gonna be a great fit for you. And often, you're not accepted.

[00:18:03.00] - Laurie Kagay

Because we don’t think that. Yeah.

[00:18:05.79] - Gregg Garner

So if you’re accepted and you're wondering, I don't know if that's the best place for me. The only way I could confirm that it's not is if you lied or didn't tell the truth. Or I guess it's synonymous. Specifically, on, like, your application or the interviews that you made. But if you told the truth and you were sincere, there's some very discerning, prayerful people at all our Bible colleges that are praying through the admissions process. And, like, don't don't give up until you have talked with God. And I think that was the powerful testimony you just gave is the power of it is you included God, and the students like, that's what I needed. I needed that. I needed access to that energy, that that power that comes from God. So it's important that students don't forget that.

[00:18:51.09] - Jeff Sherrod

It's real.

[00:18:51.70] - Laurie Kagay

I think another piece of advice I'd give is, like, to not think that college is over here and your parents are over here and, you know, this was your whole

[00:18:59.79] - Jeff Sherrod

And if you're listening, we're on different sides. Right?

[00:19:01.79] - Laurie Kagay

And we're on different sides. So, like, sometimes I think that the students feel a pressure to be, like, the mediating communicator of all the things between the two sides. And I'm like, I'm so here to be on a Zoom call, to have coffee, like, to help parents. I understand this is a family this is a family commitment, not just a child.

[00:19:21.20] - Gregg Garner

And we're gonna have the best success to do as a student if your family understands

[00:19:26.40] - Laurie Kagay

Right.

[00:19:26.79] - Gregg Garner

What you're going to do next. Now if you, unfortunately, don't have the support of your family, that in and of itself puts you in a different category of consideration. Not that it it becomes a detrimental thing for the application process, but you, of course, aren't going to expect your, enrollment officer to make a phone call with your parents. But if if you do have that kind of relationship with your parents, it doesn't mean that you're, like, not a thriving adult if you all of a sudden have to include them into the decision process. In fact, we we favor it because it will be better for you the more your parents understand what you're doing, and it'll actually encourage increased support from them

[00:20:10.00] - Laurie Kagay

Right.

[00:20:10.40] - Gregg Garner

With respect to the variety of things that you need to do that you may not even know how to communicate.

[00:20:16.09] - Laurie Kagay

Yeah. And I think that's yeah. Like, let us serve you in that way by even getting an ear with your parent or bringing them to the meeting with you or doing those things so that you know, it's college is a complex thing, especially when you're eighteen. And so let, you know, let those who have made it their their job and their occupation

[00:20:32.50] - Gregg Garner

Yeah.

[00:20:33.00] - Laurie Kagay

Serve your family in that way. Don't think that as an eighteen year old, you have to be the, you know, the messenger

[00:20:39.00] - Gregg Garner

Yeah. Right.

[00:20:39.50] - Laurie Kagay

In that way. That'd be a piece of advice, I'd say.

[00:20:41.59] - Jeff Sherrod

I think if I had something, I would just say, you know, if you're headed into college in August, you probably have a a list of things that you need to do. Don't wait until the end of July, to do all those things. I think that sometimes that might contribute to feeling overwhelmed. Like, I have so much, and it didn't happen. Like, you know, just kind of organize yourself in such a way. Yeah. Pace yourself. Yeah. If you have to pay certain bills or if you have some debts or or raising money, whatever it might be. If it's financial, sometimes it's just like, have these people I need to visit before I go. You know, do those things before you go

[00:21:11.20] - Gregg Garner

Visit those people? Just say bye or to raise money?

[00:21:15.79] - Jeff Sherrod

Sometimes people move across the country, like, gotta see my grandmother before I leave.

[00:21:18.79] - Gregg Garner

Gotcha. I think someone who loves their grandmother should do whatever they need to do. I guess, speaking towards that, and you had mentioned something earlier. I think it's important for a student, even though there's, like, all this sense of lasts. My last time at home, my last moments that like, instead of implementing a mental block related to the finality

[00:21:41.09] - Laurie Kagay

Yes.

[00:21:41.50] - Gregg Garner

Of that that time period, recognize that it's a new beginning. And in the new beginning, you can still integrate your friends and family from the place you came from.

[00:21:51.00] - Laurie Kagay

Yeah.

[00:21:51.20] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah.

[00:21:51.59] - Gregg Garner

You just have to be intentional about it. I know I encourage students that they should figure out the school schedule and then coordinate the school schedule by making sure that their family has it. Because sometimes families just buys you a plane ticket. Right? Buys a plane ticket, and they end up buying the plane ticket during the, finals party, at the lake that you really wanted to go to or whatever or the beach retreat or whatever it is. And now you're super upset, and then your parents may not interpret it well because you're not communicating well, and then understand is you don't wanna be around the family. Or you have this friend that's that wanted to do a special birthday party because it's their their twenty first birthday, and they wanted to, I don't know, go to DC or New York and and watch a Broadway show or something. Like, you gotta learn to recognize that in this new beginning, you have some adult control over how you spend your time, but you wanna coordinate it with those that love and care about you.

[00:22:48.29] - Laurie Kagay

Yeah.

[00:22:49.20] - Gregg Garner

So getting a hold of the the school calendar can and then sharing it with your parents can remediate a lot of the problems that emerge from that. And then you can intentionally look forward to things. Like, you're gonna miss your best friend because they're going to another school. Well, right now, just go ahead and plan that during Thanksgiving break, you guys are both going home and that you're gonna get together with some of the other friends who stayed at the community college, and you guys are gonna fellowship. And, if you're

[00:23:15.09] - Jeff Sherrod

That’s great advice, Gregg. Like, it doesn’t have to be sad.

[00:23:16.70] - Laurie Kagay

Yeah tone the drama down a few notches.

[00:23:22.90] - Gregg Garner

For these kids, you know, maybe their grandmother's in their sixties. Right? At their age. Their grandmother's in their sixties. She's got some time, god willing, got twenty years. Right. Like, if she's healthy and everything, maybe you don't need to see her this summer if it's that far away. Maybe you can go for Christmas. So the like, leaving home and going to college does not have to be this, like, window over Houston. So that now you have to orbit life. And and and maybe in the next life get that opportunity. Is there's there's no way. Right? So if a student can re-conceptualize how they're thinking about this moment, it can probably take the pressure down as well.

[00:24:00.50] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah. I think that's helpful. Anything else you wanna add to this?

[00:24:03.40] - Laurie Kagay

I think no. I think that's good.

[00:24:05.20] - Jeff Sherrod

Thanks so much for for joining us today. Before we sign off, I did wanna say we mentioned summer internships. So if you are a junior or if you're even a college student and you're looking for summer inter a summer admission summer abroad, mission experience, we'd love to have you. We'll go ahead and put the information, for summer internship, in the show notes. We'd love for you to check that out. Thanks for listening to College Conversations. We always appreciate it when you guys like and subscribe and share the show with others.

[00:24:34.20] - Gregg Garner

Yeah. We wanna get to a thousand subscribers, so you gotta help us out, please. So head over to YouTube and get your friends to do it.

[00:24:40.79] - Jeff Sherrod

Yeah. That's great. We always appreciate it. Thanks, guys. See you guys next time.