I would like to hire a Speech Writer - 05/02/2017 18:12 EST

7 minute speech. Audience is about 200 high school students from state of Texas (and their parents) that have been "admitted" but not yet selected to san diego state university. This is held at a hotel ballroom in dallas and their first intro to the school on personal basis with a range of speakers from the university. These students have most likely been accepted to a number of universities, so now they are comparing which ones to pursue/visit. I have been asked to speak because I am a parent of a daughter that is now a sophmore at the university (and i recently was asked and became a board member of the sdsu texas council which promotes sdsu in texas). I have 5-7 minutes regarding my/our experience as a parent. I don’t have to sell them but be honest in sharing my experience and thoughts. I thought I would/could cover the items below (but the challenge for me is to determine how to get it to 7 minutes with most important/interesting and come across as helpful to the parents and kids but also appreciated by the SDSU staff and some humor? 1. my experience being a parent of an sdsu student. Once I kissed her goodbye, I haven’t done much ( I am busy working myself) other than speaking when needed (usually for $), Sunday updates, and lecture her on being more proactive in getting involved with campus activities, professors, advisors, and why. 2. My experience visiting sdsu (particularly "Explore" which is their weekend to show off the campus, meet organizations and staff); Orientation-which you are encouraged to attend after you have committed to enrolling; and finally dorm move-in and attended the family convocation held at the huge basketball arena. I did all 3 trips to sdsu., so points regarding what was the experience like. 3. why I felt it was a good idea to look at schools in California, particularly sdsu (this is a public school and I am paying out of state tuition which is almost as high as a private university). 4. Opportunities my daughter has been able to take advantage of since going to sdsu. (see below) 5. Any growth I have seen in my daughter since starting college. 6, ways in which this has been a good decision for my daughter- (matured, more appreciative of what she took for granted; learned to cook and shop, learned to make decisions and mistakes, more self-iniative, ??? 7. What it was like sending her off to college in another state. (excited for her, scary/concern, VERY SAD-like death, but knew it was time to sink or swim without parents and local friends nearby. -------------------- background: She somehow came up with SDSU on her own. She had never been to California and no friends going there. I did not want really want her to go to sdsu because of the high cost of paying out of state tuition to a public school. She was very focused and excited to go ...she is very independent minded and usually learns to ignore me to get her way. I would say she independent=stubborn (and thinks I don't know anything), and adventurous (she isn't concerned about sticking with the popular crowd) For example, went to summer surfing camp for a month by herself as a high school sophomore(hawaii) and junior (costa rica) . She did like that sdsu was a large university (29,000) with NCAA 1 athletics (despite she really doesn't follow sports at all) and; liked that they have sororities. I objected at first and wanted her to investigate other schools but did not fight her too hard for going, as I did the same with my dad (he wanted me to go east and I wanted to go to texas despite I had never had been there before as my spirit is independent as well but I am type A and she is not.) Upon visiting, I did find the sdsu campus-beautiful architecture and facilities I called in "camp” san diego state university". I was concerned about the California "laid-back" style and party reputation but she was not trouble in highschool (as far as I knew) and a relatively cautious and rules based kid; thus, I had to give her the benefit of the doubt (not be a helicopter parent). I also thought she would mature by leaving her familiar surroundings as she has had the same routine her whole life as we have lived in the same house since she was born. California is a long distance so she would not be able to drive home on weekends--this was a commitment. She is not a "princess" but not a jock. She is polite, a bit quiet, attractive and can dress up as needed but more comfortable in shorts and driving a jeep. I also thought living in a more diverse culture than our upper middleclass suburb would be good for her. (there are Hispanics , Blacks, Asians and some Muslims in her high school but it is still a relatively uniform culture given the suburb we are in. California has so many more cultures/people for her to have to relate to). For me, though expensive for travel, San Diego is a fantasic place to have to visit your student, compared to many state school locations that are small towns in the middle of nowhere, as we have enjoyed different hotels, beach, parks, zoo, lajolla, padres game, downtown, restaurants, etc. We went to the 3 activities (Explore (many many display booths of organizations along the outdoor plaza to investigate the plethora of interests, diverse range of speakers in the new , huge , beautiful student center with coffee and pastries served; and tour of campus. 2. Orientation- once committed, back to sdsu for more indepth look of the school of interest, meeting the dean, more organized speakers regarding what and how to get involved, dorm life/meal plan info, etc) 3. , Move-in/convocation- got to dorm early to get a cart to move belonging, etc. Convocation was in the huge basketball arena-well done with speakers of each school, student president, and a pinning ceremony. Freshman year she enjoyed a lot and only heard from her on Sunday's via phone. She moved in a dorm with 5 other girls she did not know but had met on the sdsu facebook page; was on the 5 day meal plan, works out at huge sdsu gym facility, got a personal trainer and lost 20 pounds and came home thin (most freshman girls gain weight in college!); joined a sorority (she wanted to join a sorority but I was glad that sdsu is not that serious about greek life as some schools are. They are organized but not obsessive, over the top admittance qualifications such as legacy letters, pre-summer interviews and parties, too many activities and parties, and importantly, not devastating if you don’t get in a sorority like some colleges are. She has no car so a bit of an inconvenience but not needed, but my credit card bill shows that uber and lyft work fine ; she hikes a bit; went to Cochella with 2 girls- CoChella is massive 3 day concert in palm desert; gone to Disney land with friends. We went to Parents weekend in October, went to the beach and went to the football game. we noticed that organized tailgate parties were not much a tradition as they are in other state schools-(odd) so we purchased tickets to the pre-organized pregame dinner with other freshman families in the stadium private club; and then seat with the students. Sophmore: She is living with 4 of the same 6 roommates this year as last year in an apartment this year. I thought that was quite rare that despite they are all in different sororities, they elected to live together. But there is also not much room in the sororities and on campus dorms are very limited for upperclassman. She hikes. She took a class, what she called a “GPA booster” (which was surfing) and got an A. (when I questioned her about spending that kind of money on a surfing class, she responded to me that "well, dad, you took ice skating and scuba diving in college....obviously, I kept my mouth shut from that response since it was true. OK, but an issue is that my daughter has not been doing so great with grades. She loved the school and experience her freshman year but in December told me that she might want to transfer schools as she doesn't think she is getting the college experience that she sees her other high school friends getting by going to southern school...this could also be what some call the “sophomore slump” (I think she sees that California lacks the camaraderie culture that dallas has and now appreciates it more. I think she also may not be as attached to the loose style of Californians as she thought. she is a bit more conservative and does care about her looks/clothes/makeup. But she also recognizes transferring junior year wont be the same college experience at this point either so she now said she is buckling down and sticking with it. she says she has changed a lot, but I have not been able to get her to articulate exactly what that means too me. but we have seen and she has admitted her appreciation for her home, parents, etc that she didn't have before and misses them and including her bedroom (i.e I guess she saw life is not so easy). She stresses out studying , like any kid does. She lived with 6 girls in the dorm last year and enjoyed it. She is living with 4 of those same 6 in an apartment this year. She hikes. She took a class, what she calls a gpa booster (surfing) and got an A. (when I questioned her about spending that kind of money on a surfing class, she responded to me that "well, dad, you took ice skating and scuba diving in college....obviously, I kept my mouth shut from that response since it was true. I I appreciate that San diego is a great place to have to visit your student, compared to many state school locations that are small towns in the middle of nowhere. I could give hints about getting the dorm room ready?