Parent Newsletter - September, 2023

From the President

Dear Parents,

Wheaton College is greatly blessed by the prayers of our parents.

Many Wheaton Moms and Wheaton Dads—as I like to call them—are faithful intercessors. They pray not only for their own beloved students, but for our entire campus community. We do not take this for granted, but absolutely depend on it.

Some of my favorite prayer times each year are the farewell gatherings we host right after our newest parents say good-bye to their Wheaties and right before they head back home. A few weeks ago, we gathered for nearly an hour in the Armerding Concert Hall with our largest group of new parents. Their Scripture-based prayers addressed a wide range of the personal needs, spiritual concerns, and life opportunities that their freshmen and transfers are likely to encounter this school year.

For your praying pleasure, we are providing a list of the Bible verses they included in their prayers—a set of scriptures we hope will guide your own intercession on behalf of Wheaton College.

Prayerfully,

Philip Ryken
President 

Parent Town Hall Recording Available

If you were not able to attend the virtual Parent Town Hall with President Ryken yesterday, the session was recorded and is available for viewing. Parents, thank you for submitting so many helpful questions. Watch Town Hall recording. 

If you have questions down the road, feel free to email parents@wheaton.edu and the Parent Engagement team will help point you in the right direction to get answers.

Family Weekend 2023

All parents, grandparents, and siblings are invited to attend Family Weekend on November 3-4, 2023. Details will be coming to your inbox soon, but in the meantime, mark your calendars!

Student Development: Resources

Wheaton College offers a number of resources to support students. Residence Directors (live-in professional staff) and Resident Assistants (student leader on each floor) are some of the first staff members that students get to know. If your student mentions any concerns with roommates, academics, emotional care, or adjusting to living away from home, please encourage them to connect directly with their residence life staff member for encouragement, assistance, and referrals to additional campus resources. Students also can request support from Student Care Services. This resource is found on the student section of the Wheaton Portal in the C.A.R.E.S area.

This page will provide a starting point to the full range of available resources provided by the Student Development division.

Parent Notification Policy

Parents sometime ask the question, “When will someone at the College contact me if a concern arises with my student?”  The Parent Notification Policy is a good resource to help address this question.  The policy is posted online in the Student Development section of the Student Handbook and is a resource to clarify expectations.  Follow up questions may be directed to student.development@wheaton.edu. 

Residence Life Check-Up Guide

Community is beginning to take shape after a great start to the school year. Being back together creates an air of excitement. Students are building new connections in their living spaces, assessing past friendships, and figuring out who their people will be for the year. The purpose of the Residence Life department at Wheaton College (think RAs, GRAs, ARDs, RDs) is to create physically and relationally supportive environments where students are challenged to live out the body of Christ and grow in His likeness.

Students received this roommate check-up guide on building healthy relationships before they arrived on campus; it is a helpful resource for parents as well. Having a roommate, floor mates, apartment mates and a brother or sister floor can be one of the great joys of your student’s college years.  Friendships, adventures, late night talks, sharing joys and sorrows, meeting people from all over the world are enormous opportunities that can shape your student. Relationships, as we all know, can also be a point of conflict, misunderstanding and distress. It is absolutely critical to understand that community, both intimate and extended, is the workshop of your student’s relationship with God. It is not by chance that Jesus said, “If you love me, love your neighbor.”

It is by design that Campus Living is one of the four pillars of Wheaton’s educational experience (along with academic, co-curricular, and chapel). For eight months of the year, students live with roommates and floor mates in all their glory and mess. There are challenges of communication, expectations, teamwork, reconciliation, conflict management, and the working out of 1 Corinthians 13 within a real-life scenario. Students are not only building intellectual muscles while they attend Wheaton, but they are also putting their faith into practice with real people in a real community. That is why we do not simply change housing arrangements when roommate dynamics feel uncomfortable, challenging, or overwhelming. The Residence Life staff is here to walk alongside your student by giving them both support and challenge and help walk them through the practices of the Christian life as it pertains to their living situation. If your student mentions experiencing a glitch with their roommate, please encourage them to reach out to their residence life staff member who can help guide and empower them to have an honest and caring conversation with their roommate.

Center for Vocation and Career

 The mission of the Center for Vocation and Career (CVC) is to equip all students with tools and opportunities to discover, prepare for, and launch into their next steps to help build the Church and benefit society worldwide. And, whether your student is starting their first year at Wheaton or their last year, it’s never too early (or too late!) for them to connect with the CVC.

The CVC uses Handshake to provide career education resources, events, and coaching appointments, and to connect students with employers for jobs and internships. If they haven’t already, encourage your student to activate their Handshake profile with their Wheaton College log-in credentials. Activating Handshake only takes a few steps and it’s the best way for your student to stay up-to-date with events and services of the CVC.

If your student has a quick question about their resume, cover letter, how to search for a job or internship, or just needs help knowing how to begin, they can drop by our office any time Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. to connect with our team. (Plus, we’ve got great snacks!)

Your student can also schedule a 30-minute 1:1 appointment to receive coaching on any topic, from understanding their strengths and vocational interests, to negotiating a job offer. Like all CVC resources, coaching appointments are free for students. Have your student log into Handshake with their Wheaton credentials and click on the “Career Center” tab to request an appointment.

All our how-to resources are available online for students who want to take things at their own pace. Start reading our articles here.

For all general questions, please email the CVC at cvc@wheaton.edu.

Student Health Services

Student Health Services (SHS) has been busy seeing patients completing entrance requirements, being cleared to start their intercollegiate or club sport, or sick with various viruses often spread once students gather in the Fall. SHS has two physicians, two nurse practitioners, and a team of registered nurses who are available Monday through Friday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. to care for any primary health care needs that arise for your son or daughter. The SHS website highlights the types of services available. All provider visits are covered under the Health and Wellness fee paid at the beginning of each semester, with potential additional fees for medications, supplies, or blood work.

Flu shots are now available! Please encourage your student to protect themselves and others in the Wheaton College community by getting a flu shot this year. The cost of the vaccine is $30 billed directly to the student’s account. Students can walk-in or call SHS to schedule an appointment. SHS nurses will also be setting up portable “flu clinics” in lower Beamer or the Billy Graham Hall lobby during the month of October and November to make the flu vaccine even more accessible.

Wheaton in Chicago

Wheaton in Chicago presents all undergraduate students with the opportunity to spend a semester living and learning in the city of Chicago.

Wheaton in Chicago kicked off this fall semester with a cohort of 12 students who are living in the neighborhood of Woodlawn and interning at organizations throughout the city including South East Chicago Commission, Lawndale Christian Health Center, and World Relief.  Wheaton in Chicago welcomes back musicologist Dr. Johann Buis from his Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in Tanzania last year as he returns to join photographer Professor Greg Schreck in co-teaching Wheaton in Chicago’s popular Engaging Arts in the City class, which meets on Friday nights in order to attend art openings, theater shows, and musical performances throughout the South Side and Chicago.

If your student is interested in Wheaton in Chicago, please encourage them to email wheaton.in.chicago@wheaton.edu with any questions. The spring 2024 final application deadline – and fall 2024 early action deadline – is Friday, October 13, 2023, and they can apply online.

How to Pray for Wheaton in September

• For new and returning students to transition well into their new living spaces and communities;
• For those who are away from home for the first time in their lives and are lonely, that they will experience the nearness of the Lord’s presence and quickly forge new friendships;
• For physical and spiritual protection over the entire campus.

With thanks for your involvement and prayers, 

The Wheaton College Parent Engagement Team