Access Barnard Parent & Family Newsletter: Issue 1, Oct 2023

PARENT & FAMILY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2023 | ISSUE NO. 1

INSIDE Barnard Academic Calendar 2023-24

A Word From the Executive Director KATIE HYON It’s hard to believe that it is nearly November and we’re already halfway through the semester! The 2023-24

Pre-Orientation & Fall Programming Highlights

academic year has been a flurry of activity, from PreOrientation and the start of the school year amidst an NYC heat wave, to a very wet autumn and our

Glossary

unending midterms season here on campus. We hope that you are doing well and staying healthy.

Barnard First-Year Blog The following pages will include a few highlights from

Budgeting FLI Corner Opportunity Programs

our summer Pre-Orientation Program and fall programming thus far. We are also providing some resources to help stay connected to your student’s experience. We hope that by doing so, you will gain better insight and familiarity into life at Barnard.

International Parent & Family Guidance

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Barnard Fall Calendar Academic Year 2023 - 2024

Our amazing Summer Student Leaders, from left to right — Leana, Pia and Alexis.

Barnard 2023-24 Academic Calendar You may have questions about what your students have been up to since the semester started. The first two weeks of the semester are considered a “shopping

To keep up with critical dates for the rest of the year, please refer to the Barnard 2023 - 2024 Academic Calendar here.

period” during which students can try out various courses to add and drop as they finalize their term course schedule.

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Memories from Pre-O We hosted an extremely robust three week Summer Pre-Orientation Program this August across our three program areas — Opportunity Programs, FirstGeneration and Low-Income Student Initiatives (FLI), and International Student Services (ISS) — serving a total of 172 incoming first-year students. It was an absolute pleasure connecting with your students and aiding in their transition to life at Barnard!

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Fall 2023 Programming Featuring: Peer Mentoring Program Academic Year Launch, ISS Twilight Cruise, Access Barnard Fall Welcome Back Lunch, Access Barnard monthly yoga, ISS New Student Check-In, and a few of our Global Ambassadors at the International Transfer Orientation!

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Glossary Barnard Terminology There is a large amount of specific language and a multitude of acronyms thrown around not only in U.S. higher education, but also here at Barnard and Columbia.

To help demystify some of these terms and better familiarize you, we’ve put together a glossary of Barnard terminology.

Please take a closer look here!

Barnard First-Year Blog What Is It?

The blog serves as a central source of information for first-year students at Barnard.

There are regular updates with explanations of academic policies, procedures and deadlines; information: from academic programs and departments; and announcements about opportunities for fellowships, grants and scholarships.

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The blog is an incredible resource for both parents and students. Interested in learning more about what your new student is encountering? Check out the first-year blog for everything related to the firstyear experience here at Barnard!

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Budgeting The Importance of Financial Literacy Let’s Talk About It!

Budgeting 101

Learning to budget is a process that nearly every college student has to go through. And as we know, budgeting isn’t always fun. But, it is a necessity and valuable life skill. The reality is that your student attends college in NYC, one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Calculate Your Earnings

We strongly encourage students to have ongoing conversations with their parents and families throughout their time at Barnard, and we also offer dedicated workshops and events on financial literacy at the College. The following is some of the advice we share with our students, and we trust that you are having these conversations with your student as well!

Before creating a budget, have an honest conversation with the people involved in financing your education. This may involve your parents or guardians, or this may just be a conversation with yourself, but having this real talk conversation before each school year can help to set clear expectations. Then, examine your income, allowance, or savings to realistically see how much you have each month. You may need an oncampus job, as well as additional side jobs or other passive income sources.

Calculate Your Expenses Make a list of likely expenses you will incur over the course of the academic year, like school supplies, including textbooks or access codes; local transportation fees and how you will get to and from campus each semester and on breaks; discretionary spending for entertainment and social activities; groceries and other non-dining hall food; clothing for your summer days or but also preparing for the colder months; think of bigger expenses like rent or mobile plans through carriers like Verizon or T-Mobile.

While this amount obviously varies by student, having an estimate for a student’s unique individual needs will give them a better idea of what they’re working with and a better chance at achieving their budget goals.

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Budgeting Analyze Your Spending If you are spending (or planning to spend) more money than your income, then you need to make some serious modifications. Get a realistic view on how much money is flowing in and out each month. Think about the semester ahead and academic year. Take into account school breaks (Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter, Spring), think about future term bills.

If you want to stay in NYC over the summer and are worried about costs, then make sure you are planning early to apply for the on-campus roles that include housing and food.

Get inventive, find part-time work opportunities, and adopt an adaptive mindset if that’s what you need to be less stressed about your finances!

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Financial Wellness Certificate Program The Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being offers Barnard students the opportunity to participate in a semester-long program that culminates in earning a LeFrak Center Financial Wellness Certificate. Through this program, students learn about budgeting, savings, credit, taxes, financial goal-setting, and explore the relationship between financial and mental wellness.

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FLI Corner FLI Resources at Barnard There are many other ways FLI Students are supported at Barnard. See below for other programs and resources available through Access Barnard and around the campus.

Introducing Jemima Gedeon

My name is Jemima Gedeon and I serve as Director of First-Generation Student Initiatives at Barnard! In my role I am responsible for creating strategic priorities for first-generation and lowerincome (FLI) students at Barnard College. I work closely with the rest of the leadership team at Access Barnard to implement supportive strategies to enhance the college experience for FLI students.

As a first-generation college graduate, I am thrilled to serve as the FLI advisor for your student. It takes a village to support a student throughout their undergraduate years and we applaud you for all that you have done to get your student to this point. We hope this parent & family newsletter will help you to remain informed about what's happening on campus.

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FLI Huddle Groups Organized by Jemima, these huddle groups are a safe space wherein students may share their experience as FLI students, asks questions various questions and get first hand accounts and advice from other FLI students. These meetings occur bi-weekly with different topics covered in each meeting.

Barnard FLI Partnership Library The Barnard FLI Partnership Library was created in collaboration with first-generation and lowincome students, and the collection is maintained in partnership with FLI students. The FLI Library is part of the Barnard Library collection and provides FLI Students with coursebooks that they can check out for the entire semester. Their goal is to provide any book necessary for any class required for any given major.

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Opportunity Programs Escucheles siempre con una mente abierta, demuestre mucha paciencia, y anime a sus estudiantes a que tomen sus propias decisiones y aprenda a valerse por sí mismo. Como padres o familiares ustedes están en transición de criar a un pequeño a entrenar a un joven adulto. Por medio de este boletín, esperamos guiarlos como pueden apoyar a su estudiante y compartir con ellos esta nueva experiencia.

From Elida Martinez Gaynor Hola, mi nombre es Elida Martinez-Gaynor. Soy originaria de Honduras y como muchas de nuestras estudiantes, soy la primera en mi familia en completar mi educación superior en los Estados Unidos. Mi función dentro de Access Barnard es la de Directora de los programas HEOP y CSTEP Siempre me entusiasma recibir un nuevo grupo de estudiantes y comenzar a verles desarrollar académicamente y en las primeras etapas de adultez.

A medida que su estudiante comience a navegar la vida universitaria, comenzará a pasar por varias etapas de desarrollo psicosocial, sentido de independencia, adultez y empezaran a tomar sus propias decisiones. Durante estas nuevas etapas de desarrollo académico y personal, les aconsejamos que como padres o familiares brindan apoyo a su estudiante adquiriendo un rol de socio o entrenador.

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Lidiar con un ritmo de clases riguroso puede ser un poco agotador. Recuerden a su estudiante que han sido admitidos a esta institución porque estamos seguros de su capacidad académica. Por favor recomiende a su estudiante mantenerse al día con sus estudios, y asignaciones.

Es muy importante que su estudiante pida ayuda en el momento en que sientan que una clase se les dificulta. La universidad tiene un sin número de recursos para ayudar y guiar a los estudiantes. El estudiante tiene que comenzar por preguntar y pedir ayuda. En Access Barnard siempre hay personal o estudiantes entrenados que pueden guiar a su estudiante.

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Opportunity Programs As your student moves through life in college at Barnard, they may be going through developmental milestones as they discover their version of independence, adulthood, and decision-making. In this new stage of their personal and academic growth, we encourage family members to take on a coach or partner role in supporting their students.

By asking thoughtful questions, listening, showing patience, and encouraging students to make decisions or accomplish tasks independently, you are moving from raising a child to coaching a young adult.

Throughout this newsletter, we hope you can take away some guiding questions and resources to help you coach your Barnard student.

Managing Barnard’s rigorous curriculum can sometimes seem daunting, even for the most experienced students. As your student transitions into these new learning experiences, encourage them to keep up with their academic load and be proactive with their education. Your student will have access to a plethora of resources that can contribute to academic achievement.

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ISS Parent & Family Guidance Important Tips The first year at Barnard College is not only an adjustment for our international students but also for their parents and family! International Student Services would like to share these tips to parents and family members for supporting their international students during the first few weeks of the semester: Set up a routine time to talk, text, or video chat!

This will help you stay connected to your student, understand their needs and concerns, and help you be an important part of their support network while they are away at school.

International students experience homesickness at various points throughout the semester. Encourage your student to connect with our office and other important health and wellness campus resources to combat stress and loneliness.

Plan now with your student for how/where they will spend the upcoming College breaks (Thanksgiving and Winter Break). The residence halls are open during Thanksgiving Break, and ISS hosts a program - Millie's Thanksgiving Homestay - that connects international students to local Barnard alumnae for the holiday weekend.

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Introducing Joanna C. H. Kang Senior Advisor, International Student Services

各位家長們好！ 我的名字是 Joanna Kang. 現在擔任國際學生辦 公室的 Senior Advisor. 中文是我的母語, 如果你 的孩子有任何問題,無論是關於F1/J1簽證，移民 法規的詮釋，或者平日生活與社交上的疑慮。都 請你鼓勵他們來 Access Barnard 約我聊一聊！ 提供國際學生各種充沛的資源， 除了幫助他們在美國維持合法 F1/J1 學生身分之 外，我們也會定期舉辦各種不同的活動促進同學 們、甚至校友之間的情誼。能在校園裡磨練領導 和社交能力對國際學生未來的職涯發展有絕對正 向的影響。希望同學們多多利用參與！ Access Barnard

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CONTACT US & FOLLOW ALONG Access Barnard serves as the hub of College efforts to enhance the academic experiences, and promote the inclusion and excellence of first-generation, low-income, and international students in their transition to and persistence through the Barnard experience. We do so by celebrating identities, cultivating community, empowering exploration, mentoring others, and building allyship, holistic development, and self-advocacy.

Email accessbarnard@barnard.edu iss@barnard.edu opportunityprograms@barnard.edu Follow us on Instagram @accessbarnard Website www.barnard.edu/access-barnard