Summer Immersion Parent Describes Key Moment for His Student
José Villalba is the Vice President and Special Advisor to the President at Wake Forest University. He is also a two-time parent of Summer Immersion Program alumni and advocate for access to higher education.
Villalba shared a few thoughts with us at the Wake Forest Summer Immersion Program 10-year celebration.
What is your name and relation to the Summer Immersion Program?
My name is José Villalba. I am the Vice President and Special Advisor to the President. I am affiliated with the program because I’ve sent two children, our oldest who is now a freshman at Wake and our middle child who is a junior in high school.
What is your family’s favorite memory from the Summer Immersion Program?
My favorite memory, and this goes for my wife too, was picking up our oldest, the freshman at Wake Forest. He was convinced he was never going to Wake Forest, because his dad worked there and it was too close to home. When we dropped him off for the Summer Immersion Program, he wasn’t very excited, but when we picked him up he was upset that it was over. He wanted to stay as long as possible. On the short ride home, he kept saying, so I’m just going to ED (apply Early Decision) to Wake Forest, because that’s how much I loved it. For us, it was our favorite memory because it showed him that he belonged at Wake in a way that I don’t think he ever fully realized, and we’ll hold onto that for a long time.
How would you describe the Summer Immersion Program in three words?
Exceptional, eye-opening, and humbling. By humbling I mean, both of our kids thought they knew everything about going to college, and then they came to Wake Forest for the Summer Immersion Program and realized, wait a minute, there is a lot more to going to college than just having a parent who’s an educator. That’s what I mean by humbling. I mean it in a good way.
Final thoughts
We know a lot of other families that have sent their kids to Summer Immersion. Some of them would consider themselves to be first-generation college students. The outreach and the access that this program provides the families from all over the country, and really all over the world, is second to none. The ability to plant that seed in the mind and in the hearts of families, particularly those first-generation families is amazing.