Earlier this month, St. Thomas hosted Family Weekend. The campus was buzzing with excitement as parents and family members made their way to our beautiful campus to share in the celebration. It was fun to see the smiles on students’ faces as they showed their families their rooms, grabbed some food at Scooter’s or attended one of the many Family Weekend activities on campus.
On Friday, Oct. 3, Multicultural Student Services hosted its annual Family Weekend reception. Although many words could be used to describe that lovely evening, I will choose one: “Amazing.”
I know what you are all thinking . . . Why was it amazing?
Well, for starters, more than 125 students, parents and family members attended. Murray Herrick 304 was packed!
The reception was an opportunity for our students to give back to their parents and family members. It brought back fond memories of “Show and Tell” in elementary school and the end-of-the-year class performances where parents and family members would come and see their children perform a song, dance or short play. While I knew how much parents enjoy seeing their young children perform and how I remember seeing my own parents beam with pride after I would recite my two-sentence line in a play, I was unsure of what their responses would be on a college campus.
In addition to good food and good company, the evening’s events consisted of a variety show with first-year students discussing the benefits of our REAL (Reaching Excellence in Academics and Leadership) Program and original spoken word pieces performed by first-year student Dustin Evans and sophomore Sahr Brima. Sahr also talked about the importance of the Linkages Mentor Program before giving a heart-pumping introduction of the hip-hop dance club PULSE, led by junior Derek Porter. PULSE, with more than 25 dancers, rocked the house and performed several pieces that had the audience cheering!
Before the performances, one could sense the nervous energy coming from the students, who were were giddy and excited to perform for their parents. As I looked into the crowd, I could see the pride on each parent’s face as sons and daughters showcased their talents . . . just as they had years ago at elementary school programs. No matter how old or how young you are, there is just something special about performing for family.
It all made for one “amazing” evening!
