Daniela Goldstone - College Girl!!

Daniela at orientation - meeting her friend Katy from New Jersey. They have been writing to each other for months and were so excited to finally meet!

meeting Lindsey from Wisconsin, Katy's roommate

Daniela sees her room for the first time. (see her new guitar which she can't wait to learn to play!) Daniela was very gracious. Though we arrived first, she let her roommate choose which bed she wanted. Her roommate chose the single bed on the other side of the room. The top bunk is reserved for the college's only commuter student, Cody. Cody will sleep over occasionally, especially when they have evening activities. The rooms are beautiful, just remodeled and very spacious.

The first year academic advisers making a presentation to students and their families. They are just great young women. On the right is Daniela's incredible adviser Lori Konopasek. In just the first week, she has emailed or called me several times to ask questions and let me know how Daniela is doing. She is very proactive in trying to make sure all her students have the best transition possible. Daniela is so very lucky to have her there supporting her.

At lunch the first day - so typical - young women checking the texts on their cell phones!

Daniela with her lovely roommate Miranda. Miranda is from Wisconsin and her family has already invited Daniela to come visit when Miranda goes home some weekends. Such a nice young woman and family!

Sitting on her bed, decorated just as she wanted! (sorry it's blurry!)

sitting at her desk, where hopefully, she will do lots of work in the coming year

her storage area in her room, lots of space!!

Daniela's bed - very cozy!

In the first year kitchen - Daniela has already helped cook dinner there. She helped make spaghetti with one of the first year guys!

With Bethany, a really sweet first year student who we met when we came to Wisconsin in June. She's from Illinois. Her family has also invited Daniela to come home with Bethany!

From Tina -

Well - at long last Daniela Goldstone is a college student! Last weekend she and I flew to Wisconsin so that she could begin her new journey. She was so excited and nervous, we both were!

She had so much fun meeting all of the new students. She especially was looking forward to meeting Katy Stengele. (You can read more about Katy by clicking on her name). They have been emailing each other for several months and were already friends before they met! She also couldn't wait to meet her roommate Miranda. Also in the photos are Lindsey and Bethany. They are all great young women, just like Daniela, so excited to be starting this new journey together. There are also 4 other young women and 8 young men in the first year class whom she will come to know very well in the coming year.

Daniela's room is beautiful, as are all of the facilities of the college. The administration and staff have gone to a great deal of effort and expense to make sure the students have everything they need to live, learn, and work for their three years at Shepherds.

The orientation was wonderful and informative, getting to meet so many other families with high expectations for their children's lives. Everyone was so thrilled that they were getting this spectacular, unique opportunity.  Such lovely families, filled with hope and happiness! The air was electric!

We had sessions with our children and separate from them, gradually spending more and more time apart to ease the students into their families leaving. Everything was so well planned out. I could feel Daniela becoming more comfortable and safe. By the time I left her on Saturday afternoon,  she was ready and there were no tears on either side (though she told me she cried a bit that night, as I'm sure was true for many students).

This past week has been challenging for her, I'm sure. So many changes - no family, no TV (or very, very little), no cat, no nightly calls to her boyfriend, no food in her new room PLUS new food, new friends, new bathrooms and showers, NEW RULES! In addition - getting used to all of her classes, instructors, combination locks on lockers, and last, but not least, HOMEWORK! Wow, I'm sure she and the other new students crash into their beds at night (along with the very devoted staff and teachers!)

As I said in the photos, Daniela's adviser, Lori Konopasek (Mrs. K to the students) is amazing. Intelligent, insightful, and kind, she and I are totally on the same page when it comes to helping Daniela adjust. I already trust her advice completely. To add to the stress this week, all of a sudden, the State of Wisconsin decided (after I left, of course.....) that Daniela DOES qualify for the IRIS program (see the previous posts concerning IRIS)! Great, fabulous news, to be sure. The funding means that her scholarship can be used by other students, which is absolutely what we wanted. It did mean, however, that Daniela had to attend the meeting required to begin the IRIS program without me there. I was able to attend by conference call (from work, which was a bit awkward), so that helped a bit. Fortunately, her adviser and another Shepherds staff person, Trecia Christianson (who Daniela knew well from our visit in June) were there for her. Challenging for Daniela, but she got through it...

I won't share details here on any other challenges right now but I may share some later on (ONLY with Daniela's permission). I'll never share issues about any other students, unless I have their and their families blessing). As this first week went on there has been concrete progress in Daniela's comfort level. She loves her classes, the instructors, and all of her new friends. We are going to touch base by phone several times a week, and email each other in between. Thursday night, she went to a gathering in the second year girls housing to watch football (Green Bay Packers!), play games and eat popcorn. She sounded like she was having a blast and ended the call by saying "I gotta go, mom!" I look forward to hearing how her weekend went when I talk to her tonight.

For now, it will be just be me writing on the blog. Daniela will be far too busy with school, chores, (and fun!) to write, though I will ask her what she wants me to say about her experiences and will ask her if I can quote some of her emails. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some photos to share as well with the help of the staff. So keep reading - the blog will continue! Now is the time when Daniela's journey will start to get very, very interesting!!

All the best,

Tina