As your student moves through their time at Union, it can be challenging to balance your involvement in their college experience with fostering their independence and growth. Our Parent and Family Resources are designed to help you find the right balance between advocating for your student and empowering them to make the most of their Union experience.
Dear Parents and Families of the Class of 2027,
As your student enters their senior year at Union, I want to take a moment to introduce myself as the Class Dean for the Class of 2027. While I have only been working with this class for the last year, it has been my privilege to get to know your students as they navigate their Union experience. And in their final year, I will be working with them as they complete their last academic requirements, prepare for life after Union, and celebrate all they have accomplished.
While it’s been my responsibility to serve as a primary point of contact and support for your student, I don’t do it alone! I work closely with faculty and many other campus partners to monitor graduation progress, make resource connections, and prepare students for the challenges and the exciting opportunities of this year, and beyond.
Throughout the year, we will engage seniors in a variety of ways:
Senior year is full of conflicting feelings, for both you and your students. I am here to share in the excitement, nerves, and reflection, while supporting all of you as you prepare for the transitions ahead. Please encourage your students to connect with me to create a plan for the year and to ensure they make the most of the resources available to them. I also welcome the opportunity to speak with you to discuss our partnership in supporting your students. As graduating seniors and adults, we all want the students to take the initiative and to lead the conversation about their lives after Union. But at the same time, it’s important for them to know that they have a whole team behind them and they don’t need to do it alone!
I can’t wait to see the Class of 2027 make the most of this fun and memorable year. I look forward to seeing you at Homecoming and Family Weekend, the Steinmetz Symposium and Prize Day, or at Commencement. Thank you for the many ways you support your students and the Union community.
Thanks,
Robin Olinsky
I am delighted to welcome all of you and your Class of 2028 student back for the 2026 - 2027 academic year! I cannot believe the Class of 2028 has completed the first half of their Union journey! This is a milestone and last spring, we celebrated it with the Sophomore Halfway There event. In the last year, I have gotten to know many more of them and how wonderful, driven, and engaged they are. At this point in time, majors should be declared and students should be ready to dive in deeper with their major courses. This is also a great year to start thinking about jobs, if students haven’t already been thinking about it; and they could certainly use your encouragement to do so. And I am certainly a partner in that encouragement so you can rest assured I will be nudging students along to our Career Center this year.
With the Career Fair in September, study abroad opportunities, Club Expo, and the like, the campus will be bustling with activity this fall as it always is - with many great experiences and events that your student can participate in. I continue to be available to support your student through this part of their college experience but I also encourage you to point your student to the Career Center as they look forward to internship opportunities and what path they want to pursue after graduation.I am excited to be continuing on with your student and seeing them grow this year!
Thank you for your partnership and please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance.
Kind regards,
Eun-sil Lee
Dear Parents/Families of the Class of 2029,
We’re excited to welcome back your student to their sophomore year at Union.
There’s much to look forward to as your student makes the significant transition from their first year to their second. With the benefit of a year of college completed, Union sophomores can translate that experience into an even more meaningful and rewarding phase ahead. The friendships and connections they formed within the Union community can be strengthened, as well as their confidence in approaching every facet of college life.
If the first year emphasis focused on openness and curiosity, that will still hold true, but sophomore year offers particular opportunities for depth and growth both in the academic and non-academic dimensions of their experience. By spring term, sophomores will officially declare their major, solidifying their chosen field of study. This will happen under the thoughtful mentorship of faculty and advisors who will guide their intellectual focus moving forward. Outside the classroom, through Student Activities, sophomores may explore leadership opportunities on campus through student government and organizations, where these and other venues allow them to apply their skills and passions to impact the student experience. Career planning also takes shape in sophomore year as your student is encouraged to work with the Career Center to find internships that connect their course learning to professional settings. And to further expand the breadth of one’s Union education, some of our students' most memorable learning happens through choosing from among our Study Abroad programs.
These are only some of the ways that sophomore year is a defining time in the undergraduate experience. Perhaps more than any other point in their studies, each sophomore needs to make decisions that will shape the remainder of their time at Union. In order to help your student navigate the options and opportunities unique to their second year, we’re here to support them at each step. As the Class Dean for the Class of 2029, I will continue to work closely with your student to provide them highly individualized support and advising. This includes preparing them to take full advantage of the year ahead. During week 3 of fall term, all sophomores are required to attend our program, “Choices: Building Your Union Roadmap”. The event will feature Union staff and upperclass year students who will share their advice and strategies, and help reconnect each sophomore with Union’s network of supportive resources.
As your student reacclimates to Union in the coming days, I’d like to remind them — and you – about how their first year here has prepared them well for this newest phase of their life and studies. They are rejoining a vibrant community of faculty, staff, and peers eager to encourage them in the venture of growth and possibility that their undergraduate years represent.
Thank you for your role in preparing your student to return to Union this fall. I’m excited to reconnect with our sophomores in the coming days. As you, too, are valued members of our community, I welcome you to reach out to me if you have any questions or needs that I can assist with.
Sharif Rosen
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Dear Families of the Union College Class of 2030,
Welcome once again to the Union College community!
My name is Sue Jordan, and I am your students’ Class Dean. I am so excited to be part of such a welcoming and vibrant learning community. I am also looking forward to getting to know each of your students in the weeks and years to come, as I will serve as their Class Dean throughout their journeys here at Union until their graduation in June 2030.
I often describe my work as making sure that students are able to maximize their college experience. In the coming 4 years, I will contact them regularly with reminders about academic resources, events outside the classroom and important milestones, as well as with invitations to meet, connect, and craft plans for their success. If your student receives an email from me, that does not mean that they are in trouble! Rather, my hope is that they will see the outreach as a chance to take advantage of all the educational, well-being, and extracurricular opportunities that Union has to offer. I try to refrain from long lists of advice when students are starting their college journeys, but one of my two keys to success for first years is “read your email”.
The second key to getting the most out of college, I believe, is showing up in person and making connections. Of course we want students to show up to their classes, but we also hope that they will attend faculty office hours, engage in classroom discussion, and utilize the Office of Student Success and Writing Center. Outside the classroom, we hope that they will connect with peers through a club or organization, service opportunity, Intercultural Affairs, Minerva House, or the myriad other programs and venues on campus. Each of these things involves a little bit of vulnerability,especially at first. A great place to start is Friday, September 11th at the Club Expo.
At Union, we understand that college marks a time of transition for you as well as for your first year students. While they are learning new practice and theory, study skills, and how to navigate their new community; you may be learning how to navigate new communication patterns, or the rhythm of daily life in your home while your student is living on campus. Learning is rarely a purely linear process, and I have encouraged the students to be patient as this transition unfolds and they adjust to college. Rather, if they find themselves feeling frustrated or unsure, I hope they will ask for help, either by reaching out to some of the resources linked above or by contacting me directly. I hope that you will also get in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns about your students along their undergraduate journeys.
With kindest regards,
Sue Jordan
Additional | Campus Resources | |
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Location: Reamer Campus Center 303
Phone: (518) 388-8060
Email: classdeans@union.edu