The Foreign Service Journal, June 2017

70 JUNE 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT Find a cultural center. Community and college cultural centers or organiza- tions are great places for students to stay connected to the cultures, languages and foods of their past. Update your résumé and prepare your elevator pitch. Tina Quick, author of The Global Nomad’s Guide to Uni- versity Transition (Summertime, 2010), recommends that in anticipation of meeting potential employers or friends, students “figure out your elevator speech when they ask you where you’re from.” In addition, students should dust off their college application résumé and update it—many college organizations and part-time jobs require students to have references and a detailed resume. Preparing to make personal and pro- fessional connections ahead of time will increase TCKs’ level of confidence and prepare them for success. Avoid Road Bumps—Make Plans No matter how much you plan, things will go wrong—it is important for stu- dents to have discussions about budget- ing, communication and emergency processes with their parents while they are still face-to-face. Develop a budget. It’s time to talk money and develop a budget with your student. I encourage families to use Google Drive to access and edit shared documents from around the globe, keep- ing finances transparent. Have a discussion with the financial aid office about your options as a family, develop a semester (or yearlong) budget to project and track finances. Decide who will be covering which expenses, how these expenses will be paid, how money will be transferred between accounts, and how the student will access and spend money. Because financial aid may not be available until the third or fourth week of term, it is important that families have plans in place covering those first few weeks. Develop a Family Communication Plan. Communication plans are the best way to ensure the entire family under- stands how to keep each other in the loop. Discuss communication expecta- tions with your student. How often do you realistically expect to hear from