University of Nebraska–Lincoln Parents Association

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

2009

Co-President Joy Citta

Lincoln NE

Co-President Rosemary Eastwood

Lincoln NE

Co-Presidents Elect Timothy and Susan Draftz

Atchison KS

Secretary Michael Keralis

Lincoln NE

Treasurer Kaylene Luedtke

Columbus NE

Members-at-Large Henry Carnaby

Houston TX

Dick Luedtke Columbus NE

Darwin and Kathy McGhee

Anthon IA

JoDell Payne Kearney NE

Elizabeth Pokorny

Omaha NE

Dana Stubben Lincoln NE

Clyde Waite Norton MA

A NEWSLETTER FOR PARENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA–LINCOLN STUDENTS Fall 2009 VOL. 26 NO. 1

A NEWSLETTER FOR PARENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA–LINCOLN STUDENTS Fall 2009 VOL. 26 NO. 1

UNL Parents Association Co-Presidents

Welcome, Parents! Welcome to our newest Parent’s Association members, our freshmen parents and our transfer student parents! Welcome also to all our returning Parent Association members! Membership in the Parent’s Association is automatic with your student’s enrollment at UNL. I would like to invite you to learn more about the benefits of being an “active member”. Let me begin by telling you a little about myself and how the Association has benefited me as a parent. I and my wife Susan serve as the Co-Presidents Elect for 2009; in 2010 we will take over from Joy Citta and Rosemary Eastwood as Co-Presidents (we would love to have you as members of the Advisory Board, please consider a position like Co-President Elect or Member At Large). Our son, Robert, is a sophomore and the second son to attend UNL. I became involved with the Association when my oldest son Tim was a student. At the time, the Association needed a representative to attend meetings for the Robert Wood Johnson Grant that the University had received to increase alcohol awareness on campus. Through these meetings and the Association meetings I was able to discover the degree of caring and involvement the Staff of the University has with our sons and daughters. I was sure that from an academic viewpoint that Nebraska was right for my son; from my involvement with the Association, I was doubly assured that the social environment was right for my son. With Robert’s enrollment in UNL, I suggested that Susan become involved with the Association. Our lives are somewhat busy with both of us working, three children in college or graduate school, four more at home, and the oldest daughter getting married. With Susan active in the Association, my reasoning was one of us could make the meetings and stay up to date on what’s happening at the University. Susan’s experience at the first meeting was so much fun (Quote: “This is a fun group!”); she doesn’t want to miss an event. The Association hasn’t disappointed either one of us yet. We meet four times a year (great excuse to visit your student). This is an outstanding opportunity for interaction with the University Administration and Staff as we get and give input on what’s happening on campus. Our fall meeting will elect officers for 2010 and we are expecting to have football game tickets available for purchase for the game that day. Our big fund-raiser of the year is our raffle which includes such prizes as tuition, books, sports memorabilia, and other great prizes. We use these funds to support our on campus activities. Please respond positively when you receive your raffle tickets and good luck. You’ve probably met some of our current “active members” already. We have a booth every year at the “Big Red Road Show” in Omaha, meeting prospective students and their parents. Maybe you’ve seen us as your student moved into the dorms, we’re the parents at

Susan and Timothy Draftz UNL Parents Association Co-Presidents

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Jeff and Christina Wunrow Parents of UNL Student, Alex My wife, Christina, and I have a son, Alex, that just committed to attend UNL this fall. He will be majoring in Journalism. We live in Minneapolis, MN and have never lived in Nebraska. We moved to Minnesota three years ago after living in Southern California for 16 years. We are very excited to have our son attending such a fine institution. We also plan to attend Parents Weekend 2009 in October. Welcome to UNL and the UNL Parents Association Jeff, Christina and Alex! It sounds like you have had a lot of big changes in your lives recently—and hopefully we can help make this big change a little easier. We look forward to seeing you in October!

the entrance providing information, or directing traffic, or just lending a sympathetic ear to a parent saying goodbye for the first time to their son or daughter. Each year we sponsor a Faculty/Staff Recognition Program. Here we recognize publicly those faculty and staff who have made a difference in the life of our students. You, the parents, nominate the award winners, and the Association makes sure they know how they’ve made a difference in one person’s life. You are, of course, invited to attend this in late January/early February 2010. We are also involved with the Outstanding Student Leadership Award given to two students each year. And saving the best for last… please plan on attending our Parent’s Weekend Oct 2-4 this year. We have some wonderful events planned for you and your student. There’s no better way to get to know other parents than participating in the fun events of this weekend. So, while entering college is one of those major milestones in your son or daughter’s life, it doesn’t mean that your involvement with them is over. You may not be able to “make it all better” like you did when they were four (here is where I get teary-eyed thinking about my first one going off to school), but you can still make a difference in their school experience by joining, working, and having fun with your UNL Parent’s Association. See you around campus!

Meet the Parents . . . Opportunities for our UNL Parents Association members to meet other UNL Parents exist via attendance at UNL Parents Association meetings and events. However, it can be a particular challenge to our parents who live out-of-state and who have schedule conflicts for the meetings and events. We have recently created a Facebook group for the UNL Parents Association which may help parents connect. (Feel free to join the Facebook group and to send us your suggestions to maximize the usefulness of this tool.) The organization name in Facebook is UNL Parents Association; it is a “global” organization. The website is: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22626258497.

The Campus Report, the UNL Parents Association newsletter, is another way we would like to try introducing you to our wonderful parents. We have asked parents to please send us a photo of them and/or their student with a brief introduction that we can share in our newsletter. Mike Sadler, a proud Husker Dad who lives out-of-state was the first to meet the challenge. Now, we want to introduce you to . . .

Welcome Parents!

NCard’s Top Ten . . . Here are the top 10 things parents should know about the NCard

By Sue Ostrander, Project Coordinator Shared Services

1. It’s more than just your student’s UNL identification card. 2. NCards are used on campus for door access, meal plans, library services,

UNL events (including football tickets), the Readership program, access to student fee based privileges like Health Center and Recreation Center, class attendance, test taking , NCard Campus Account and many others activities. For a more complete list go to ncard.unl.edu.

3. Students need to report when their card is missing! Learn how at http://ncard.unl.edu/info/loststolen.shtml.

4. NCard replacement fee is $20.00 5. NCards have a chip and antenna embedded in them. Students should NOT bend, wash and/or dry, chew on,

punch holes in, use it as an ice scrapper or get close to a strong magnet with the NCard. 6. The NCard Campus Account program and the Wells Fargo College Checking program are two completely

different programs. 7. The NCard Campus Account is one of the feeds onto the Student Accounts Consolidated Bill and not the

Consolidated Bill. 8. Students with NCard Campus Account have a monthly spending limit of $300. Textbooks do not go against

the $300. 9. Students need to be encouraged to reconcile their NCard Campus Account transactions on the Consolidated

Bill monthly. 10. If you have questions regarding the NCard call 402-472-7331 or email sostrander1@unl.edu.

“It’s not only children who grow.  Parents do too.  As much as we 

watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are 

watching us to see what we do with ours.  I can’t tell my children 

to reach for the sun.  All I can do is reach for it myself.  ~ Joyce 

Maynard 

 

 

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children.  

One is roots.  The other is wings.  ~ Hodding Carter, Jr. 

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PARENTS ASSOCIATION GRANTS Recipients of the 2008-09 Grant Funding Requests The UNL Parents Association is pleased to fund the following grant proposals with proceeds available from the tuition raffle: The total amount of $2,430.00 is being donated by the UNL Parents Association and goes directly toward projects that benefit our students.

A little more information on funding for these awards . . .

Each year, the UNL Parents Association receives requests for more funds than they have available. While all requests are worthwhile, we simply do not have the funds to grant them all. The criteria established to fund grants are:

Must impact the majority of our UNL student population, and

Must support the mission of the University in providing a safe, educational environment and promotes student success

While the University works hard to meet as many of the students’ needs as possible, additional assistance is appreciated and improves the college experience our students have. The UNL Parents Association recognizes that our students need quality academic resources, safe alternatives for social activities and stress reduction, health issue awareness to stay healthy, places and activities to help reduce stress levels and increase focus throughout the academic year, and finally, to help students as they complete their graduation requirements and move into the job market.

In an effort to increase the funding for these grant requests and other UNL Parents Association activities, the UNL Parents Association plans to host a Silent Auction at Parents Weekend 2009. Many wonderful items will be available, and we encourage you to visit the silent auction tables while you are there and bid on items of interest knowing that your contributions will be going to a good cause – helping our students succeed.

PARENTS ASSOCIATION TUITION RAFFLE

Watch for your chance to enter the UNL Parents Association Raffle in your mail this fall! The Tuition Raffle is the UNL Parents Association’s primary fundraiser. Proceeds from the raffle help fund grants which benefit the general student body, like those listed above, as well as other Parents Association activities. You could win in-state tuition up to $2,500 for the Spring Semester for your UNL student (two prizes) or a book scholarship up to $250 (three prizes) while supporting the efforts of the UNL Parents Association at the same time. Good luck!

$750.00 Office of Academic Support and Intercultural Services (OASIS) to be used to support Black History Month activities which supports the OASIS mission of “providing students with the opportunity to explore the dynamic diversity that is ever-present at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.”

$700.00 Student Involvement to be used to purchase game items for “Campus Night Life,” which will offer safe events free to all students on designated Fridays from 9:00 p.m. until midnight.

$600.00 Office of Academic Support and Intercultural Services (OASIS) to be used to purchase food and beverages in support of the OASIS combined “Graduation Reception” for all graduating OASIS students and their families and will recognize their accomplishments.

$380.00 Office of Academic Support and Intercultural Services (OASIS) to be used to purchase game items in support of “First Friday Game Nights” which offer students a break from hectic classes and daily life with a safe evening out with food, fun and an opportunity to experience diversity in a positive social environment.

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JOIN THE TEAM—BE INVOLVED!

Michael & Robin Keralis

We are Michael & Robin Keralis of rural Lincoln, Nebraska. As graduates of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, we are pleased to have two of our three children currently enrolled at UNL. Andrew and Leah Keralis are actually third generation UNL students, as both of Robin’s parents also graduated from the University of Nebraska in the 1940’s. It is exciting to see all the changes and improvements around campus since the 1970’s when Michael and Robin were undergraduates at UNL. There is no place like Nebraska! Getting involved in the UNL Parents Association was a “no brainer” after years of being involved and volunteering at school when our children were in elementary, middle and high school. Already we have learned new things about UNL, met many interesting people and found ways to volunteer in campus activities. We are looking forward to this year’s Parents Weekend, coming up October 2-4, 2009, and we would like to encourage other parents to come and share in the weekend activities on campus. Living south of Lincoln, just 20 minutes from campus, makes it easy for us to be involved in UNL Parents Association activities, as well as to support the activities of our children on campus— CASNR, Air Force ROTC and Big Red Express. Even though we don’t live far away, we have encouraged our children to live in UNL residence halls, rather than at home, to completely immerse them in the “college experience” and to give them valuable experience living away from home but with the support of the residence hall environment. As UNL alumni and UNL parents, we can’t help but be Husker fans. Last year was our first year to purchase Husker women’s basketball season tickets, but we also had the opportunity to attend a few volleyball, football and men’s basketball games, which was great. Go Huskers!

(L-R) Dick and Kaylene Luedtke and Robin and Michael Keralis enjoy a football game together after a UNL Parents Association meeting.

Summer Meeting and Potluck Social (July 2009)

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The University of Nebraska–Lincoln does not discriminate based

on gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status,

veteran’s status, national or ethnic origin or sexual orientation.