Dear Carolina Families,
As parents of a UNC Junior, we are honored to serve the Carolina community through our role as National Chairs of the Parents Council. As you may know, the Parents Council is the leadership organization that represents the Parents Association, which all Carolina families are automatically part of when their student is admitted to the university. Since our daughter, Alana, arrived in Chapel Hill, she has experienced enthusiastic support and encouragement from diverse students, faculty, and administrators throughout the campus, which we value and appreciate. As parents, we enjoyed positive experiences during admitted student receptions, summer orientation and send-offs, and Family Weekend events. We were so grateful for all these encounters which helped us to feel part of the Carolina community that we decided to join the Parents Council to help other families to feel welcomed, included, connected, and supported.
We are passionate to help all students and their families encounter similar positive experiences that our family enjoyed. Also, we want all students and their families to know about and leverage the vast array of resources and opportunities that Carolina offers as an exceptional educational institution. One of the main sources of information and support for families can be accessed through the Office of New Student and Carolina Parent Programs, which is a critical function in Student Affairs. Most likely, your student and you participated in a CTOPS or TSOPs summer orientation session or have read through the Family Handbook and Magazine, which are all provided by the Office of New Student and Carolina Parent programs. We encourage you to explore all of the information from these resources, as well as from the website of the Office of New Student & Carolina Parent Programs (nscpp.unc.edu) that showcases all of the available programs and services to help your student and family.
As out of state parents, who graduated from other educational institutions, we benefited from the communications, programs, and services graciously delivered by the warm and welcoming staff members of the Office of New Student and Carolina Parents Programs (NSCPP). Most importantly, the support from NSCPP helped our daughter to transition well into college life and helped us develop a healthy adult relationship with her. We were able to learn about the university and campus events through the Office and did not need to rely on our daughter for these updates; actually, we were able to have relevant information that engaged our daughter in family discussions and events. As a result, we were able to develop and respect new boundaries with our daughter while maintaining a close knit family relationship that is of the utmost importance to us.
Hopefully, we can help your student and family to find all of the information and resources that your student needs to enjoy a fulfilling campus experience and reach their potential as talented new members of the Carolina community. Since your feedback is important for us to understand and help your students and families with their diverse needs, we encourage you to reach out to us with your questions, comments, or suggestions. We invite you to contact us at gina.prettitore@mondialusa.com or jay.c.austin@altria.com.
We welcome your student and your family to the Carolina community and are proud to be members of the UNC family with you. We look forward to the opportunity to connect with you soon.
Sincerely Yours,
Jay C. Austin and Gina Prettitore Austin
