The Foreign Service Journal, June 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2017 65 ing. By building a mentorship early on, students will create a relationship with someone who can help them at chal- lenging crossroads and champion them throughout their college career. Connect with faculty. First-semester faculty members are used to students introducing themselves before the term starts, to prepare for their upcoming semester and to learn more about the course expectations. Connecting with faculty can be a great way for TCKs to make an interesting first impression and prepare for academic success. By showing genuine interest in their courses and creating a rapport with faculty, TCKs will be more likely to ben- efit from faculty office hours and will feel comfortable reaching out for help when it is needed. Seek out other TCKs. Few institutions identify TCKs, and they are easily lost in the mix, but Lewis & Clark’s Brian White encourages students to seek each other out: “Anything they can [do] to identify and connect with other TCKs is helpful.” International admissions advisers are a great resource for these connections because they have met many TCKs while visiting overseas schools andmay be able to introduce them to each other. Head- ing to campus knowing there is someone else who gets how hard it is to answer “So where are you from?” can be a great thing. Reach out to regional family and friends. Many students choose specific regions due to strong family or friend net- works; this is the time to leverage those relationships. Contact relatives and friends early in the process to ask for their support. If possible, schedule time for dinners or lunches before school starts, so your student feels comfortable reaching out to these extended family members in times of need. I t’s hard to predict how a teenager will react to the idea of an international move. Some see it as a grand adven- ture and look forward to the change of lifestyle with eagerness and enthusi- asm. Yet many parents worry that they might face the opposite reaction: open mutiny, complete with accusations of ruining the child’s life. Of course, the reaction could also be somewhere in between—or both, depending on the day. Each teenager is different, but one thing is universal: choosing a school is not only about feeding the mind, but also feeding the young person’s appro- priate social and emotional develop- ment. That makes it a doubly important decision, one for which consideration of the child’s resilience is essential. Though there are many benchmarks for determining the suitability of a school, it is important to keep in mind that every individual has their own needs. A school that is great for one student may be a disaster for another. Here are some of the things to consider: Size Curriculum Extracurricular activities Peer group School culture College counseling Safety For a full discussion of each of these aspects of choosing a school, as well as a discussion of the types of schools and alternative approaches that are avail- able to meet the particular needs of FS kids, go to afsa.org/educationarticles to access the complete article. Rebecca Grappo is a certified educa- tional planner and the founder of RNG International Educational consultants, LLC. Married to a retired career Foreign Service officer, she has raised their three children internationally. From the FSJ Education Supplement June 2013 Thinking Through Educational Options For Your Foreign Service Child BY REBECCA GRAPPO