Fall 2018 Greetings, 49er Family Member! We are so glad to welcome you as a family member as we begin our 2018 - 2019 academic year. For those families who are new to Niner Nation, we are thrilled to have you join our growing, inclusive community at UNC Charlotte and look forward to working with you through your student’s journey here on campus. For those of you who are returning families, we are thrilled that you have chosen to stay connected to our office and hope that the resources we provide will allow you to continue supporting your student as they progress toward their degree. As we kick off the academic year, we are excited to share several initiatives to meet the needs of our growing family community. This year, we will launch several new programs, including: A family move-in reception, taking place on Saturday, Aug. 18; The Niner Nation Family Association, which allows for expanded information, community-building opportunities, early access to ticket sales and other exclusive events; and Digital resources for families of students within various communities on campus. Through these initiatives, among others, we hope to serve the diverse needs of our family community and to increase opportunities for you to engage with your student, other family members and the UNC Charlotte community. This newsletter will provide you with several resources that will introduce you to the year ahead, continue discussions around the transition process and support necessary for student success and share upcoming events for you and your student. Please use this information as a starting point for conversations with your student, to ask them what they have engaged with on campus or to encourage them to begin exploring the various experiences available throughout the year. We look forward to supporting you and your student over the course of the year, and hope to engage with you through our new and existing programs. We value the role you play in supporting your student through their transition, and look forward to a year of successful partnership ahead! Go Niners! Emily Wheeler Director, New Student & Family Services In This Issue... Family Weekend 2018 is Almost Here! Career Carnival New Student & Family Services Supports Families through Their 49er Experience Transitioning to College: Your Student and You UNC Charlotte Police Volunteer Opportunity: Getting Involved with Mock Interviews Family Weekend 2018 is Almost Here! By Faith Pannell, New Student & Family Services New Student & Family Services is excited to welcome our Niner Nation Family community back to campus Sept. 14-16 for our annual Family Weekend! Family Weekend is our largest family program that allows families the opportunity to come together to share the 49er experience with their student, connect with other families and cheer on our Charlotte 49ers football team. Family Weekend will begin on Friday, Sept. 14 with 49er 411 Sessions, mock academic classes and the Campus Activities Board (CAB) Union Takeover, featuring Shamilton. The weekend continues Saturday, Sept. 15 with our annual Chancellor's Brunch, the Family Weekend Tailgate at Alumni Tailgate Village and our Charlotte 49ers vs. Old Dominion University at 6:00 p.m. in Jerry Richardson Stadium. Family Weekend registration opens online on Aug. 20 at 10 a.m. Spots fill up quickly, so make sure to mark it on your calendar! Remember if you are a Niner Nation Family Association (NNFA) member you have the opportunity to register early! Click here to become a NNFA member today! To register for Family Weekend, visit our “Events” page on the NSFS website and click “Register.” Information on the schedule and available packages will be available soon on the site. Do not miss this opportunity to show your Niner Pride as a family. We cannot wait to see you there! Career Carnival By Brooke Brown, University Career Center UNC Charlotte Gold Rush, the University's official welcome week program, gives new and returning students many opportunities to connect with departments and organizations on campus. During that week, the University Career Center transforms the Student Activity Center Food Court into a bustling, exciting carnival filled with games, prizes and fair food. More than 1,100 UNC Charlotte students took part in last year’s Career Carnival, a free event hosted by the Career Center. During the Career Carnival on Aug. 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., students can try their hand at classic carnival games, including the Hi-Striker, Frog Launcher and Milk Can Toss or less traditional games like Virtual Roller Coaster, Air Racer, Futuristic Interactive Game and Fun Derby Pony Races. In between games, students can snap a picture with Norm, grab some cotton candy and snow cones, get their face painted or claim a t-shirt prize. The Career Center emphasizes fun and connection through the Career Carnival. In the midst of the event’s fun and games, students can connect informally with employers and campus partners, including the Offices of Leadership & Community Engagement, Education Abroad and University Center for Academic Excellence (UCAE). Fifteen employer sponsors, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Cardinal Solutions, Fast Enterprise and FedEx Ground, will be on hand to join in on the fun, talk with students about job opportunities and provide valuable recruiting tips and information. For more information about this free event, please visit the event website. Encourage your student to be a part of this fun and educational event! Our career team, employers and campus partners enjoy having the opportunity to connect with so many students during Gold Rush. Also, could your company use some Niner talent? We work with organizations of all sizes to recruit Niners for full-time, part-time and internship positions. Contact our team at [email protected] today. New Student & Family Services Supports Families through Their 49er Experience By Shannon McGevna, New Student & Family Services Another school year is upon us, full of exciting opportunities for both students and their family members. For those families of incoming students, you caught a glimpse of what New Student & Family Services (NSFS) does at SOAR, but here is a little bit more information about how NSFS keeps families informed and engaged throughout the year. For those family members of returning Niners, this serves as a reminder of the resources that are available to you as a family member! Involvement & Leadership Niner National Family Association NSFS encourages families to join the Niner Nation Family Association. The Association exists to offer families increased opportunities to stay informed and engaged through publications, events and connections to campus. Additionally, membership allows families to have priority registration for events and receive both “Relatively Speaking” and “Niner Nation Family” magazine. To join the Association, visit our website. For a one-year membership, it is $49 and a four-year membership is $149. Family Council Families are able to join the Family Council through an annual leadership gift to the 49er Family Fund. In addition to working with campus officials to provide family perspective, members also help allocate 49er Family Fund grants to UNC Charlotte student life initiatives. As a member, family members attend both business and allocation meetings 1-2 times a semester. For more information, email Jordan Holliday-Millard. Events Family Weekend Sept. 14-16, 2018 A weekend of family, football and fun, Family Weekend is the perfect weekend to connect with campus! This weekend offers families the ability to come to campus, attend a football game, participate in a tailgate and eat brunch with Chancellor Dubois. Registration opens Aug. 20 online at nsfs.uncc.edu! Spring Family Reunion Feb. 23, 2019 This event is meant for families to reconnect with their students and give back to the community. Family members and their students have the option to participate in a service project on campus or in the surrounding Charlotte area. More information will be available in fall 2018. Communication Family News All family members will receive “Family News” during the year. This is a quarterly newsletter that is sent to all family members featuring news from campus, highlights on students, faculty and staff and information on upcoming events. If you would like to update your account to reflect your most current information, please click here. Members of Niner Nation Family Association also receive additional publications throughout the year, including: Relatively Speaking This is our monthly newsletter for Niner Nation Family Association members. Each month, campus partners share news or highlights about their office and initiatives, keep you up- to-date on activities going on around campus or give you a glimpse into student life with interviews. “Relatively Speaking” is a great way to stay connected to student life, as well as learn about valuable on-campus resources. Niner Nation Family Magazine Our bi-annual magazine goes out once a semester to members of the Niner Nation Family Association. “Niner Nation Family” magazine provides families and students with an overarching theme to campus life, then dives deeper into that topic and its impact on UNC Charlotte. In years past, NSFS covered campus construction, health and wellness, student resources and Charlotte football. The magazine is an in-depth look at campus, the city, students, faculty and more. Association members will receive this printed magazine via mail. Overall, we are here to support students and their families! Through events, communication and involvement, we hope you all take advantage of the platforms our office offers in connecting you to UNC Charlotte and all it has to offer. Transitioning to College: Your Student and You By Lachelle Weathers, New Student & Family Services The transition between high school and college can be a difficult time for any new student and family. It is a time where relationships shift, the family dynamic changes and life as a whole takes a turn.