After some time without one, Temple decided to bring back a weekend devoted to family.
From Oct. 16-18, parents and family members of Temple students traveled to visit Main Campus for the Parents and Family Weekend.
This was the first time in a few years that a weekend has been specifically dedicated for parents and families to spend time with their students.
Amber Cardamone, director of Orientation and New Student Programs, was a key leader in the festivities. With an initial push from President Theobald, she wanted to reinstate the weekend because she felt parents should be recognized as part of the Temple community.
“One of the things we really wanted to focus on was bringing our parents into the overall community of Temple,” Cardamone said. “They are such a huge part of the Temple community and the success for our students.”
“It really is an opportunity to bring our parents back to campus and let them know they are part of our community and how much we value them as parents,” she added.
Student Affairs and Alumni Relations held the main roles in planning the weekend’s events. Other organizations and groups on campus also were involved like the Student Center, Student Activities, Greek associations and Temple Athletics.
“One of my goals was to make sure that if we are going to do this for the first time and bring this back, then we should really do it right and have lots of opportunities,” Cardamone said.
Each day had a highlighted event, including the President’s reception Friday, the tailgate and football game Saturday and the parents’ brunch Sunday. The main goal was ensuring the events appealed to all ages and were family friendly.
Other events throughout the weekend included movie nights at The Reel and bus tours around the city. Cardamone said the university wanted parents and students to be able to engage in the surrounding areas and experience the culture of Philadelphia.
“That is such a crucial part of what makes the Temple experience what it is, the culture and the community around us,” she said.
Sam Baker, a sophomore in the Tyler School of Art, got to spend the weekend with his mother, Judy Baker. Judy Baker said she was most excited for the football game against Central Florida and being a part of the weekend overall.
“Well, I think [the weekend] means becoming more involved with Temple, and we love Temple, so it’s exciting to become a bigger part of it,” Judy Baker said.
The weekend also gave Matthew Keck, a freshman economics major from California, the opportunity to visit with his parents for the first time since he came to Temple. His family was unable to attend Move-In Day due to the distance and looked forward to spending time with their son and attending the football game on Saturday.
“We hadn’t come to drop him off for school, so we wanted to see the campus,” said Keck’s mother Brenda Keck.
Cardamone said Parents and Family Weekend is very important for “giving back to our community and having that pride in who we are as Temple Owls.”
The Office of Student Affairs hopes to create more initiatives for parents and family members to engage in the university and the surrounding city. They are looking for feedback in order to better the event in the future.
“We hope that it was a successful weekend for everybody and we are looking to only improve for the future,” Cardamone said. “Hopefully in the future we are able to accommodate more families.”
Alexis Rogers can be reached at alexis.rogers@temple.edu.
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