This spring brings renewed hope that the pandemic will be receding into our collective past. As we enter this hopeful period of rejuvenation, we also enter the season of admissions decisions. It is at this time of the year that we particularly rely on our enthusiastic cadre of APAP parent volunteers. The watchword will be flexibility as we adapt our welcome program to the twists and turns of the virus. What is a constant is that your help as a volunteer is critical; first in encouraging admitted students to choose WashU, and then once they do commit to WashU to be an informational resource to ease their transition to St. Louis and the WashU experience.
In April, we are planning to make an initial round of calls to newly admitted Regular Decision students’ families. This first round of calls will congratulate these families, encourage them to choose WashU, and answer any questions that they may have. This program is officially called the Congratulations Calling Program (CCP). You will be hearing from the APAP staff with more details on this program, but in the meantime, we encourage you to update your willingness to participate in this and other upcoming welcoming activities by visiting the Volunteer Portal to “Edit Activities.” If you need help logging in or prefer to let us know by email, please contact us at apap@wustl.edu.
Then in June, the APAP staff will be contacting you and asking for your participation in making a second round of calls to welcome matriculating students’ families to WashU and to answer their practical questions about moving to St. Louis and life in the dorms. This program is called Parent to Parent Calling.
In addition to the two calling programs, soon the APAP office will be contacting you to ask you to be included on the Parents Resource List/International Resource List (PRL/IRL). By participating in the PRL/IRL you are agreeing to welcome questions from newly admitted students and families.
If you have questions about any of these volunteer opportunities, please contact APAP at (314 or 800) 935-4826 or apap@wustl.edu.
In our experience, it has been enjoyable and hugely rewarding to meet these new families. We hope that you will decide to participate in all three of these upcoming opportunities. Your participation will provide a key avenue for welcoming these new families and making them feel a part of the WashU community. It is this tradition of warmly welcoming families to WashU which makes our community so special.
Gwen and John Litchmann
Parents of Elizabeth, AB ’21, and Ian, Arts & Sciences Class of 2023
Co-chairs, APAP Parent Members