College Safety and Fun for Homeschool Graduates, Interview with Seth and Caroline Tillman

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: College Safety and Fun for Homeschool Graduates, Interview with Seth and Caroline Tillman. College Safety and Fun for Homeschool Graduates Vicki's five homeschool high schoolers are all graduated from college now, even her youngest, Seth and his newlywed wife, Caroline. Seth and Caroline loved their years of homeschooling. College was a big change for them both but they loved it and made the most of their experiences there by getting involved in college activities and mentoring relationships. They also made lots of friends. From the many experiences they or their friends had, Seth and Caroline offered to share some safety tips for homeschool high schoolers who will head off to college (or anywhere in the big, wide world). Seth and Caroline Tillman, photo used with permission So here are Seth and Caroline's tips for college safety and fun for homeschool graduates Seth is a elementary music education teacher in a local public school. Caroline first worked in the retirement industry but recently transferred to the University of Delaware as academic advisor and assistant to the UD Health Professions program. Both of them have had the adventure of spending part of their year teaching or advising remotely. (Check out Seth's videos for his music students.) They believe in paying the things they have learned forward to current homeschoolers to help them prepare for college or employment situations. Safety Tip #1: Walk in a group As often as you can, especially at night. If you will be late at the library, call a friend and talk to a friend while walking and use "Find My Friend" app on your phone. (Predatory people tend to prey on lone individuals, so groups are best when possible.) Safety Tip #2: Lock your dorm or apartment doors when you leave You would think this is not something you really need to tell teens. But Caroline shared that she saw the poor outcome of roommates or friends not locking doors a number of times. (Keep a key on a hair tie if you find keychains are too cumbersome.) Safety Tip #3: Ride share advice Ask the driver what YOUR name is. Make sure they and their car look like the descriptions you were told when ordering the ride. Also look for the lit sign in the windshield of the car (Uber or Lyft have signs). If you can, ride with a friend on the ordered ride. Safety Tip #4: If you are walking around with listening to music or podcasts, leave one earbud out This makes you more aware of your environment, especially for crossing roads but also for unusual things that might need your attention. Safety Tip #5: Use the share your location app on your phone But only share that with close, safe friends. It is not a social media app! Safety Tip #6: Have a friend who leaves their phone on sound at night for you (and you for them) If you have car trouble, locked out of their apartment or are in an uncomfortable situation, phoning a friend can be a life saver. Safety Tip #7: When going on college tours what kind of campus safety measures are in place at the school. For example, at University of Delaware there are safety blue lights regularly around the campus for calling for help. It is so important for schools to be considering safety of their students! Safety Tip #8: When going to an event, make sure that at least one or two of your group will stand up for you Let there be an understanding that if things get uncomfortable, you can say to your friend, "I need to go" and they will actually leave with you. Okay, now for some uncomfortable topics. Sometimes we homeschool parents try so hard to shelter our teens, that we find it extremely difficult to discuss "adult" topics with our young adults as they leave for college. (As Seth says,