By Jacob Trump
William Peace University welcomed parents the weekend of Oct. 8 for Family Weekend, an effort to reunite Pacers with their family members. This is a new tradition for WPU, and they hope to extend it to families next year.
The event offered a variety of activities ranging from museum tours to volunteer service and even hanging out with President Ralph. The weekend was a great way to start off the fall season as well as welcome parents to the WPU community.
Lisa Snedeker came to visit her son, a sophomore living in the dorms. Snedeker lives in Cary and works as the communications and marketing director for Campbell University’s Raleigh Campus.
What does the Family Weekend mean to you personally?
It means I get to spend time with my son and to experience his day-to-day environment living on campus and in downtown Raleigh. This event makes me feel closer to him and lets me get to experience the same things he does.
How do you feel that the weekend helped you connect with your family?
The weekend gave us the opportunity for some rare, uninterrupted family time, which was very appreciated. We really enjoyed the international dinner, the dessert, and wine pairing event, and breakfast with the President.
How do you feel that an event like this is either rewarding or beneficial to parents?
It gave me and my husband the chance to get to know more about life at Peace: its faculty, staff, and the environment, which makes us feel more comfortable about our son living on the campus. It’s reassuring to know that my child is comfortable and is at a good place within the school and its community.
Would you want WPU to host this event again, and if, so what would you take away or add to the event?
This was the University’s first time doing something like this, so I hope more families and students are able to participate in the future when they see how successful an event like this can be. I would like to see more events like the ‘Downtown Raleigh Tour,’ an event where parents and students got to take a historical tour of Raleigh, be more of a walking and learning tour rather than a bus ride to several museums.
How do you feel that WPU can expand on events like this in the future?
I’d like to see some more events that are focused on the school’s history, for example. I’d also like to experience a mock class featuring some of the university’s unique majors such as interactive and game design. Offering a cornhole tournament or even a cooking demo class could also be fun.
Any final thoughts?
Peace is a small tight-knit community, where everyone is treated like a name, not a number. When you are at a big school, the president is not going to know your name. At Peace, the president knows who you are and wants to help you succeed. I thought this weekend really helped illustrate that point. Overall, I thought it was a very well-organized and well-executed event and I look forward to attending next year’s family weekend.