Happy 2012 to everyone!  Things have finally settled down a little from the craziness of Homecoming, the end of the semester, and of course, the holidays. For those of you who have only one child you are probably wondering how he or she can be halfway through their freshman year of college.  Where did the time go?  If you have more children you already realize that time waits for no one and the years keep flying by.

Wasn’t it wonderful to have our children home for the Christmas break?  I am sure you saw a much more independent person.  Whether they slept in and begged for mom’s French toast in bed or got up early and made the first pot of coffee – it was clear that your “child” had grown and matured during that first semester at Wofford.

And now, the rest of their year begins with Interim.  Whether they decided to go abroad to Australia or stay on campus and take knitting, interim is a unique and important part of life at Wofford.  I am sure this last semester was a rude awakening for many students and parents.  No matter how prepared our children were for college, the academic standard at Wofford is incredibly rigorous.  Our kids have certainly learned to play hard, but wow, they have also learned to study hard.  Interim provides the perfect opportunity to explore hidden talents and interests outside of the regular curriculum.  They are learning in a non-traditional setting and touching on subjects they may never have the opportunity to explore.  Interim is becoming increasingly popular on college campuses.  At Wofford, however, this unique learning experience has been around since the sixties.  Talk about forward-thinking! Whatever your child selected this time around, they have 3 more opportunities to think outside the box and spread their wings.

When I first stepped on the Wofford campus a few years ago, I felt like I had stepped onto the set of “Stepford,” (remember, I’m not a Southerner.) I thought this was too good to be true. Cue the sunlight reflecting off of Old Main, cue the professor with suede elbow patches and a “Good Morning”, and cue the laughing students as they walk by.  Well, I quickly discovered it was not too good to be true.  This really is Wofford.  The standards and integrity of days gone by still exist in this gem in the Carolinas.  I hope you and your student have fallen in love with Wofford the way my daughter and Dan and I have.

Happy New Year.

Check out how some of the students at Wofford are spending their Interim!