Come one, come all, Bradley family weekend kicked off this fall.
The university held its annual family weekend, hosting some unique events for both students and their families to enjoy around campus.
Families walked around, discovering the university and various activities offered by Bradley.
“I think it went great,” said Cara Wood, director of student activities. “This was the first year I fully planned and executed the event. I was able to observe last year’s program, having last year’s [family weekend] to compare to, I was very happy with the results.”
As always, family weekend can always be improved. Hearing from parents and recognizing faults in events, the office of student activities is planning to make it better each year.
“On an operational standpoint, always the efficiency of getting information out to parents from the get-go about registration,” Wood said. “And the logistics surrounding some of our larger events can always be improved like our picnic, trying to plan for 1,300 people to eat during a two hour period is one thing we try to work on.”
According to the student activities
office, 405 families preregistered for the event this year and pre-purchased tickets for events.
Friday night, a dueling piano concert was held in the student center ballroom. Two men played on a piano, performing popular songs.
On Saturday morning, Fellows hosted a pancake breakfast benefitting Easter Seals; they presold 800 tickets. Many Bradley families attended this event in droves, looking forward to warm and delicious pancakes.
Later on Saturday, a picnic and pep rally was held on Olin quad. There, they announced the winner of the parent of the year award. Randy Largent, father of Becca Largent, won the coveted award.
Then later that evening, Sailesh the Hypnotist performed in the student center ballroom, presented by ACBU. The event quickly became packed, exceeding expectations and reaching full capacity 10 minutes before the show.
On Sunday, a small fitness breakfast was held in Markin Family Student Recreation Center, which gave students the opportunity to impress their parents with their workout routines. Families also partook in a 30-minute workout and a small grab and go breakfast.
Some parents enjoyed a weekend with their children, partaking in events, but some had different experiences.
“I cooked with my son at his frat and shopped for snacks for his dorm,” said Leah Vergotine, mother of sophomore Jared Vergotine. “I like how close everything is in the campus. Next time I’d like to see more of the campus instead of all the frat house though.”
Some parents enjoyed having
quality time with their kids outside of Bradley as well.
“I brought my mom. We went to the mall and I showed her ice cream shack,” said Alyssa Grove, sophomore actuarial science major. We also attended [Sigma Kappa] parent weekend and I showed her my sorority house. It was nice having her here, I was starting to miss her; she’s my favorite person.”
Many students bid their families good-bye on Sunday after another fun weekend spent with loved ones and looked forward to the next opportunity to meet up.
