Transferring to a school campus will be nerve-racking not only for the scholars, however for his or her mother and father who depart them behind. Lisa Hanselman, director of the Mountaineer Dad and mom Membership, is decided to assist make the transition to West Virginia College simpler.
Described by college students, school and workers as a “campus mom,” Hanselman helps bridge the hole between Mountaineers and their mother and father all through the educational yr, fostering pupil independence whereas preserving households within the loop about life on campus.
“People will say ‘They’re in college. They’re 18. Their parents shouldn’t be involved,’ but that’s not realistic,” Hanselman mentioned. “You can’t just turn off concern for your child because they turn 18 and live somewhere else. In fact, them living somewhere else ramps up your concern. You don’t know if they ate dinner, if they’ve washed their sheets or where they go at night. We try to find a balance. It’s OK to be a little involved.” 
Hanselman grew up in Morgantown and attended WVU, incomes a bachelor’s diploma in journalism in 1988. She then moved to Myrtle Seaside, South Carolina, the place she met her husband of 30 years, Mark, throughout a baseball recreation on the campus of Coastal Carolina College. She briefly returned to WVU to earn a Grasp of Artwork in Sport Administration in 1993, earlier than transferring to Charlotte, North Carolina.
In 2002, the Hanselman household determined to completely return to Morgantown.
“We loved living in Charlotte, but my husband’s company was precarious,” she mentioned. “I had two small boys that we wanted to raise near grandparents, and my husband wanted to complete his degree, so moving home and being part of WVU just seemed like the best idea.”
“I thought that it would be a good job until I figured things out,” Hanselman recalled. “About three months in, I realized that I liked the work. I met other University staff and parent volunteers, and I’m still friends with some of them. Through the job, I realized I was meeting so many parents, and I liked them.”
Hanselman’s non permanent job became a full-time place and, over the previous twenty years, she has served with the Mountaineer Dad and mom Membership as a program assistant, assistant director and now director.
As her three sons grew, two determined to attend WVU, giving her a brand new perspective concerning the anxieties Mountaineer households can have about their college students.
“It’s a very different experience when it’s your child,” she mentioned. “It helped because I very much understand what families are going through. I always wondered what I didn’t know about my sons’ experiences.”
For months main as much as Welcome Week, Hanselman spends her days sharing necessary info by way of webinars, emails and Fb teams to arrange households for the primary semester at WVU.
By the point they arrive on campus, Hanselman and the Mountaineer Dad and mom Membership function a reassuring presence to freshmen households. All through the primary weekend, they host “I Survived Move-In” receptions for households to loosen up and work together.
“One thing I hear all the time is ‘I remember you,’” she mentioned. “If families feel like they know someone at WVU, they feel better about things. They might not know who to contact in Housing and Residence Life, but they know the Parents Club, so they’ll ask us, and we’ll connect them to the right person. Eventually, they realize that WVU is less a massive institution and more a community of people who want to help.”
The Mountaineer Dad and mom Membership serves college students and their households from New Scholar Orientation to Graduation. All through a college students’ time at WVU, Hanselman organizes occasions, resembling Fall Household Weekend, to assist households keep linked. She additionally continues to replace Dad and mom Membership members on campus happenings and is offered to reply to mother or father issues.
“Maybe they haven’t heard from their child in several days,” she mentioned. “We can check and see that someone has eyes on them. I’m happy to call the student as well and just check in and make sure they’re doing what they need to do. A lot of times students are just busy, but if there is a larger concern, we can connect parents with the right resources.”
When not working, Hanselman enjoys bakingand touring along with her husband. Whereas an empty nester herself now, she mentioned she is all the time keen to fill her “campus mom” position.
“I love Welcome Week. I love Fall Family Weekend and NSO, but my favorite part of the job is whenever I get to meet a family and have a conversation, whether they have a question or want to get to know us,” she mentioned.
“I like being involved. I don’t mind being everybody’s mom.”
Editor’s Notice: Photograph of Hanselman courtesy of WVU.
