Geaux Tigers! This will be—and may already have been, if you bleed purple and gold—the mantra of your child for the coming years he or she spends learning and maturing on LSU's campus. There is a Spirit that lives on this LSU campus—you feel it when you walk under the live oaks whose exposed roots students respectfully avoid; you feel it in the quad where students of diverse backgrounds gather under the sun of a Louisiana spring day to network between classes; you feel it on the parade grounds where those same and many other students relax and play casual games of Frisbee, run their dogs, or just nap under the shadow of Memorial Tower; and of course, you feel it under the lights of Tiger Stadium on Saturday nights in Death Valley!

This Spirit that lives on the LSU campus is remarkable because it is the very fabric of your child’s experience here. It is palpable because it is championed by faculty members passionate about the subjects they teach; administrators who champion the value of higher education in Louisiana; researchers who champion the growth of all aspects of the intellectual spectrum for the good of the individual, the state, the world, and beyond. These are the reasons why LSU is a winning university in the realm of academics and athletics—and your child is a part of weaving that fabric of success.

So what is your part in this endeavor? There are so many opportunities for parents to remain connected to the lives of our children, even as they grow—thank goodness for text and instant messaging! And although for us, that level of involvement may be different because of distance or design, that difference does not mean disassociation from the lives of our children.

LSU’s Family Association offers parents a valuable resource for staying connected to the world of our busy children through monthly email updates which include calendars of upcoming events; an accessible support system at the LSU Family Association office where friendly individuals are willing to assist at the other end of a phone or a personal email; an introduction to being the parent of a university student during Freshman Orientation; and most importantly, Family Weekend events each semester which allow you to share the Spirit of LSU campus, firsthand, at dinners, tailgate lunches, jazz brunches, and sporting events.

These are all valuable options for parents and families to maintain a level of involvement in the university setting. It is the leadership of LSU’s Family Association office that has coordinated all of these opportunities over the past four years. Now, their enthusiasm and creativity is being brought directly to the parents who are the critical mass of this organization with the formation of the Family Association Council.

The Family Association Council offers parents a unique opportunity to join with LSU Family Association staff to guide this association toward the future. We are hoping that many of you will be enthusiastic to embrace the spirit of LSU campus through this opportunity to be a founding member of the Family Association Council. We are honored to accept the invitation to chair this council, anticipating the chance to work alongside the many more parents who value the Spirit of LSU as much as we do. We look forward to the opportunity to serve the university and the Family Association along with you!

Geaux Tigers!

Juan and Joanne Carrillo

Inaugural Chairs, Family Association Council