Winthrop Helps Moms Prepare Daughters for College

celebrated its 11th annual “Getting Your Daughter Ready for College” brunch in one of their lecture halls this past week.

The event was open to mothers and daughters interested in preparing for college and included a buffet brunch, speakers, Q & A session, and raffle prizes.

“I’m really open to anything and everything there is to know because it’s very overwhelming just in terms of all the information that you have to gather and assess,” attendee Barbara Murphy Schwaner said.

Schwaner, a Lynbrook resident, works at a private practice for psycho therapy in Mineola. Her daughter is a junior in high school and she will be turning 17 this year, but they have already begun the process of choosing colleges.

“We have a list of about 20 to 25 schools, so it’s a little overwhelming,” Schwaner said, “When we go visit the campus we’re going to ask the students what it’s like. ‘Do they feel safe? What percentage of students stays on the campus on weekends? How many are commuters?’ That will help give us clues.”

Although the event was dedicated to mothers and daughters, Schwaner attended the meeting alone. Dr. Jane Swedler, Chief of Adolescent Medicine, Dr. Elana Kastner, Faculty Physician and Ob/Gyn, and Carol K. Kristianson of Federal Credit Union, addressed the audience about important topics.

Rather than focusing on details of how to pick a school, the speakers focused on personal awareness and responsibility. They covered issues such as mental and physical health, drugs, sexual intimacy, budget management, and identity fraud.

When the presentation ended Schwaner said that it made her “a little more nervous” because the lecture brought up things “that I didn’t think about, but the more time we have to prepare I think the better we’ll get so we’ll be ready and handle it.”

After the speakers finished their presentations, a mother-daughter panel described their personal experience of coping with the college transition. The best advice they had was to “listen to your daughters.” A question and answer period with all the speakers followed the panel and concluded with a raffle drawing.

As a mother in the begining stages of sending her daughter to college, Barbara Murphy Schwaner found the event helpful and informative, but she had some suggestions on improvement for next year.

“I think it’s great that they’re able to offer this,” Schwaner said. “If they have a similar program in the future, maybe adding mental health specialist on the panel. That would be a great recommendation that I would have.”