Upon meeting Zack Rosenberg (a proudly self-proclaimed nerd) it is hard to imagine anything but the self-assured, friendly, successful persona he presents today. However, Zack's school years were not as smooth as one would wish for their precious little boy. He was diagnosed with OCD and Tourette Syndrome early on and as he aged into puberty and adolescence, his symptoms grew out of control. He attended various schools in the Los Angeles area with minimal success, but eventually he had the great fortune of finding the solution: Glenholme School in Connecticut. (I encourage you to check out their website. Not only will you see an example of a best-practices secondary program, but you will be envious because odds are good that your high school wasn't this gorgeous and didn't incorporate an equestrian program.)
Zack was gracious enough to tell me about his experience of living away from home for the first time and what life has been like for him at the lovely Paul Smith's College--an even more gorgeous campus with another excellent, specialized program. (If nothing else, Zack has high aesthetic standards in living arrangements.)
Just to put his growth into perspective: Zack used to have literally debilitating tics and OCD symptoms; now he gives admissions presentations for his college and has interned two summers in a row at Marvel Comics in NYC.
Me: Hey Zack, thanks for letting me interview you. I want to help parents get some insight about what it's like for kids today to leave the safety of their families and how they can best adjust. Can you tell us about your experience moving away from home for the first time?
Zack: The move at the beginning was hard, but my family always reminded me that they were only a phone call away. I was only a junior in high school, remember. It would have been worse if it hadn't been for my mother urging me to keep busy. As I have come to realize, my transition was incredibly smooth due to my involvement with school activities. Whether it was participating in events or joining clubs, I kept myself busy. That way I had less time to over-think being away from home. So my suggestion for you parents is to encourage your child to get involved with campus life. Not only does it keep them busy, but that’s where they find their friends and people who have similar interests, and ultimately their support system.
Me: Even though you lived away from home for a couple years in high school, I'm sure the transition to dorm living was another change yet again because of the increased freedom. How would you describe dorm life?
Zack: Dorm life is dorm life. Everyone tells you to not succumb to peer pressure but that ain’t so easy. I just recommend you let your child find things out for themselves and live the college stuff. I found real-life experience, trial-and-error, to be a better deterrent than my parents telling me I couldn't do this or that. Personally I love dorm life, and now I am a Head Resident Assistant for 5 buildings on my campus! In the dorms I found a group of people that I now call my second family, and I am incredibly thankful for the chance to have lived with such a wondrous array of people.
(Continued on December 24th)
