Parent to parent: Graduation, so soon?

It's over? Already?

Parents love to boast, and we're no exception. So whenever people we haven't seen in a long time ask about our son, Kevin, we're always thrilled to tell them that he's a student at UC Davis.

But not for long. In a few days, he'll graduate. I suppose we should be even more proud of that, but at the moment, we're still wondering where the time went.

Our memories

Of course, being the parent of a college student is much different than living the life of a college student; we have far fewer entries in the memory banks. But the ones we have are strong.

There was the day we dropped him off at the Tercero dorm as a freshman. We spent maybe 90 minutes in town that day, including lunch. "OK, you can go now," he told us, after we had unpacked his stuff. It was good to know he was ready.

Flash forward four years, to parents' weekend last fall, and our now 22-year-old son is giving us a tour of the campus radio station, KDVS-FM, where he is the general manager. He was proud of the improvements that he had helped to usher in, and he had lots to share about the ins and outs of keeping an enterprise like that running, day and night.

It was clear that the station was more than just an extracurricular activity. Wherever we went that weekend, in town or on campus, he was running into someone who worked at the station, or he was on the phone dealing with an issue that had arisen at the station. Now, there's a glimpse into the world of work after college.

A good fit

Kevin's high school counselor was the first to put Davis on his radar screen; she thought it would be a good fit. She was right.

After his first year in the dorms, Kevin and his friends rented a house, and for the most part, it will be the same guys who turn over their keys for the next group of undergrads who come along in the fall.

Academically, the four years did their magic. His major changed from time to time, but then it all started clicking after he began taking education classes and started working with students at a local middle school. He knew he wanted to teach after graduation.

What parents want

As parents, you want your student to fit in at college, both academically and socially. You're hoping he or she will get good grades, and get involved in campus activities that are both challenging and provide room for personal growth.

You want them to get done in four years, if at all possible. Even more important, you want them to figure out what they want to do in life.

You want all these things for your kids. And even when you can say, "Mission accomplished," you don't necessarily want it to end.