UCLA reaches out to parents with Bruin Parents & Families Program
By Bailey West
Sept. 28, 2009 9:24 p.m.
CORRECTION: Jacquie Gilliam is the executive director of Bruin Parents + Families.
First-year theater student Amalia Mesa-Gustin and her mother Felicia Gustin like to send each other photos on their camera phones throughout the day.
Photos of even the smallest details, as slight as the meals that they’ve consumed, are sometimes exchanged by the mother-daughter pair.
When Gustin eats one of her daughter’s favorite meals, for instance, it reminds her of the newly admitted UCLA student.
A picture message is one way the mother and daughter bond, even when they are almost 400 miles apart.
“When she was at home, we talked every day and had really good communication. Since she’s been at UCLA, we definitely talk less since I don’t see her every day. I’m trying to give her space,” Gustin said.
Now, in addition to phone calls, texting and Skype, UCLA parents can stay more involved with their students’ college lives through Chancellor Gene Block’s Bruin Parents + Families initiative.
Jacquie Gilliam, executive director of Bruin Parents + Families, said that the program is primarily a resource delivery program so that parents’ questions from anywhere across the campus can be answered in one place.
“The beauty of this school is that it’s so diverse and there’s so much information, but that can be a lot for someone who doesn’t know UCLA,” she said.
She said that the Parent Hotline and parent-specific e-mail were created as a one-stop shop for parents’ questions concerning a variety of issues.
Bruinlink, the official newsletter of Bruin Parents + Families, provides useful information for UCLA parents such as advice, news and important dates. Another service offered by the initiative is a Facebook page titled “UCLA Parents” that serves as a forum for parents to interact and ask questions. Currently, the page has more than 418 fans.
Gilliam said that the initiative is under the new UCLA Office of Parent Programs, which also includes the UCLA Parent & Family Association and the UCLA Parents’ Fund.
Parents have noticed this new sense of community created by Bruin Parents + Families.
“I am amazed at how personal the attention can be in answering specific questions. It helped us understand the process in getting from point A to point B,” Gustin said.
While Gustin did express concern that some parents may become excessively involved in their students’ lives, she said that she believes Bruin Parents + Families will actually alleviate the problem.
“”˜Helicopter parents will hover whether there is a program like this or not. However, this program will answer parents’ questions and concerns without involving their children. Rather than asking my daughter to find something out, I am giving her more space,” she said.
She also added that, while she is involved in her daughter’s life, she feels that it is important to step back so that her daughter can succeed on her own.
“Being a single parent with my only child at UCLA, it’s helpful to have a place where I can better understand things and have support, too,” Gustin said.
Jamen Garcia, a first-year psychobiology student, said she can tell when her mother is sad or misses her.
However, she said that her mother has been able to connect with other parents who are experiencing the same emotions.
She said that, while some parents may try to be extremely involved in their children’s lives, independence and balance are important for college students.
“When you’re here at college, you need to remember your background. They are the reason that you are who you are. But now you have to try to do your own thing and be your own person,” Garcia said.
Gilliam said that the primary purpose of Bruin Parents + Families is to build a community of parents and students that will be helpful, not invasive.
She added that UCLA is unique in its family program, which is a partnership between the Office of Student Affairs, the Department of External Affairs and the Division of Undergraduate Education.
“These are all of the areas that touch students’ lives. We are the only university with this all-encompassing model,” she said.
She added that major universities are currently contacting UCLA in the hopes of using its program as a model for parental relations.
Gilliam said that, through the Bruin Parents + Families Initiative, many parents have stepped up in helping students and families beyond their own.
“We’re building community by taking care of everyone. Everyone is a part of the UCLA family,” she said.
