Penn welcomed over 1,000 visitors to campus during the University’s annual Family Weekend from Oct. 25 to Oct. 27, offering a variety of programming for students and their guests.
The Office of Student Affairs planned seminars, tours, performances, and presentations tailored to different visitors, while Penn’s four undergraduate schools hosted their own events about each institution’s academic and extracurricular opportunities. Other activities for the weekend included recreational sporting events, museum tours, and performing arts showcases.
Around 1,300 people registered for Family Weekend — 80% of whom were first-time attendees, according to Student Affairs Associate Director of Programs Gabe Marenco-Garcia.
In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Marenco-Garcia wrote that events such as “Strategies for Managing Academic Stress,” Family Performing Arts Night, and the Family Weekend Tailgate drew in the largest crowds.
“[Family Weekend] is a cross-campus collaborative effort between all four schools plus several centers and departments to ensure that we provide ample opportunities for families, friends, and guests to experience both academic and social life at Penn,” Marenco-Garcia wrote. “While we had no control over this, the perfect weather made for an even more enjoyable time for families, friends, and guests.”
Several seminars were offered for family members to learn more about the University and the opportunities and resources available to students. One of the keynote events — titled “The Inside View” — was moderated by Interim Penn President Larry Jameson and featured Penn professors Cait Lamberton and Tobias Baumgart. The presentation included discussion of award-winning faculty, significant research projects currently underway at Penn, and new data about admission rates.
During the seminar in Irvine Auditorium, Jameson referenced his own experience as a Penn parent to reassure first-year parents. Additionally, he highlighted his observations of students adapting to the University environment since move-in week.
“[College] is a time when new relationships are built, and I watch those connections happening in real time,” Jameson said. “It is really heartwarming, because everyone comes here a little bit anxious with all these questions. Will I make new friends? What will my network look like?”
Jameson also emphasized the unique academic environment at Penn, citing the collaborative nature of the University experience.
“While we talk a lot about our faculty — and we should — I’m keenly aware that students learn a lot from one another, a lot in the classroom, a lot as they study together, and a lot through the extracurricular activities they do here at Penn,” Jameson said.
Beyond the events offered by the University, parents were able to spend time with their children and learn more about student life on campus.
College and Wharton first year Hadley Edwards said the weekend gave her the opportunity to tour her parents around campus and introduce them to new friends. She highlighted that her family was “super impressed by the talent” of a friend’s a capella concert.
Penn parent Nisha Mehta said she was “thrilled” to see College first year Anjali Shah “in her element” over the weekend.
“It was really nice to see so many parents spending time with their children all weekend, out and about,” Mehta said. ”Whether they were in the bookstore or at White Dog Cafe, we definitely saw a lot of Penn parents and students enjoying not only the campus, but the city of Philadelphia.”
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