Dear Potential UVA Parent – Hola! We would like to congratulate you and your child for their acceptance to the University of Virginia (UVA). Your family and you should be proud of your child’s accomplishments of getting into UVA. As a parent of a second year Hispanic/Latinx student, I know it is scary considering the possibility of your child leaving home and moving into a dorm miles away from home. This letter is to reassure you that your child will be in good hands, as my child has been for the past two years. When my daughter got into the UVA School of Nursing, we could not have been prouder of her accomplishments. Despite being proud of her, our fear was having to live with the idea that she would be attending a university that is miles, cities, and even states away from our family. We worried about who would be taking care of our daughter during her four years of college at UVA. These factors, among many others, were the reasons why we hesitated about letting our daughter purse her career at UVA. After taking a huge risk and finally allowing our daughter to attend UVA, we have realized over the past two years that UVA was the right choice. As the parent of an out-of-state, first-generation student, it is hard to have to come to the decision that may lead to only seeing your child during holiday breaks compared to seeing them every day as it has been for over 17 years. We worried whether she was eating enough, staying healthy, making friends, or completing her homework. Over time, however, we realized that our child is not the only student going through this difficult college transition. Speaking to my daughter every couple of days each week, we realized she was happy at UVA, and her happiness was all we mainly cared about. As a second-year nursing student, our daughter has created a home at UVA filled with friends and unforgettable memories. As a parent, it makes me happy knowing she is enjoying events like Lighting of the Lawn, Halloween, sporting events, and more with her friends. We are more than happy knowing that she is exploring and expanding her career at a university like UVA. Despite her leaving our home, we are grateful for her decision to attend UVA because now we cannot imagine anything otherwise. As we all know, with the COVID-19 outbreak, this has impacted many individuals around the world. From parents, students, employees, children, families, healthcare workers, and more, we are all facing difficulty under these circumstances. Coming from a low-income household, it was difficult to buy a plane ticket for my daughter to come straight home. As this situation came suddenly and during UVA’s Spring Break, many students, including my daughter, did not have the finances to purchase a plane ticket from Charlottesville to home. With this being sudden and unexpected travel, it can be extremely expensive – whether by plane, train or car. Trying to work around the situation, UVA was extremely generous as they provided students with financial support as needed for both emergency, unexpected travel and non-travel expenses. UVA understood that students and families, like my daughter and ours, may not have the proper finances to get their child home. UVA’s goal was to get every student home without having to worry about costs, and our family will always be grateful for their support. On that note, we would like to once again congratulate your child for their accomplishments and for the support you have provided them. Their college journey will start in a couple of months, and wherever they decide to go, whether it is attending UVA or another university/college, simply know that your child will have support and a home at UVA. In closing, please feel free to email me here. Sincerely,
Gudelia Calderon UVA Parent of Abby Molina-Calderon, 2nd Year Student P.S. For a Spanish version of this letter, please click here.