Kaitlyn Kupiec & Samantha Paul
@kaitlynkupiec @samantha_alexx
This past weekend, Springfield College held its annual family weekend back to campus.
Events during the weekend allowed students and their loved ones to spend quality time together. Similar to years past, events included bingo, family BBQ & DJ, laser tag, family trivia and to end the weekend off, a show from comedian and magician Trent James.
Unlike move-in day in September, this year’s second visit for parents and family members allows them to immerse themselves in the college experience on campus. Thanks to the variety of events and entertainment, families found the weekend quite enjoyable.
“It’s always great coming to campus and seeing where my daughter is living,” Craig Garneau, father to third-year student Emma Garneau, said. “It’s nice seeing what activities she likes doing on campus and experiencing it with her – like bingo.”
The number of attendees during family weekend this year was 1,146. Over 750 attended family bingo on Friday night under the Administration Green Tent. Bingo is known as one of the most significant events at Springfield, and to no surprise, people packed the tent from wall to wall.
Bingo is a popular tradition that Springfield College’s Assistant Dean for Student Engagement, Annie Warchol, brought with her to campus 15 years ago. It remains one of her favorite parts of the weekend.
“I love watching families just connect again and all smiling, and it’s just it warms your heart, you know?” Warchol said.
Although family weekend is exciting for everyone, first-year students and their parents tend to be particularly enthusiastic about the events. This is because it’s most likely their first chance to see family since they’ve left for college.
“It was exciting to be able to have my mom come up and spend time with her, without feeling like I was the only one who had a parent on campus,” first-year student Leila Osorio said. “It was comforting to see all of the families around campus, and some people even brought their dogs, which was exciting.”
Students can show their family around campus, take them out to dinner, attend a sporting event and give them the full college experience.
“I think it’s a great weekend for all families and students to come together and show our families our second home,” Emma Garneau said.
Seeing family allows students to gain the motivation needed to continue working towards their goals at Springfield. Especially for students living away from home for the first time, or have just grown more accustomed to spending time with family since the pandemic, the weekend is a good reminder of students’ support systems at home.
According to Warchol, the timing of family weekend is also very important in students’ transition to college.
“I feel strongly about the timing of family weekend, and that’s intentionally done,” Warchol said. “Data and stats show that for families – especially first-year families – the first six weeks are kind of a make or break for your time in college, so I intentionally try to get family weekend within those first six weeks to make sure there’s another connection point between families and students.”
Warchol also stressed the importance of family weekend being true to what the college student experiences during their time here.
“We showcase bingo and some of those traditional events because we want to show families too, like, ‘Hey, when your students are here this stuff doesn’t just happen during family weekend, this stuff happens all the time,’” she said.
For those students whose families can’t make it for the weekend, the college accommodates them as well. International or long-distance families are a reality for many students on campus. This year, the International Office hosted a tailgate specifically for international students as a comforting way for their campus family to get together when their own relatives are so far away.
Details like these make family weekend at Springfield College such a special tradition. For many institutions, family weekends tend to be geared only toward first-year students and their families, but what’s most unique about family weekend at Springfield is that the entire campus gets involved.
Photo courtesy of Springfield College