Over 1,788 families and 7,580 people Family Weekend

Liberty saw a record number of families on campus for its annual Family Weekend Oct. 21-23. With 1,788 families registered and over 7,580 people on the registration list, this was the largest group the campus has ever seen for Family Weekend. Registered families had the opportunity to attend Convocation, cheer on the football team as it took on BYU, engage in a photo scavenger hunt and more. 

Family Weekend allows families to reconnect with students and gives students the opportunity to show their families around the campus they have come to call home. 

Rosemary Shakro, operations coordinator of Parent & Family Connections, said Family Weekend is a great opportunity for families to connect with Liberty’s campus.

“It is fun to see all that is happening, welcoming the families to campus and just getting to meet some families,” Shakro said. “Families can come together and enjoy the campus, as well as experience the students’ home away from home.” 

This year, Liberty hosted its second annual LU Family Photo Scavenger Hunt. This event allowed families to spend quality time with one another and mingle with other families, all while exploring the campus and capturing memories on camera. On par with this year’s theme of “Go Where God Goes,” families were able to “go with God” to locations such as the Williams Stadium, LaHaye Ice Center and LU Monogram. 

Melanie Willis, a Liberty parent visiting campus this weekend, said her favorite part of the weekend was spending time and playing games with her daughter and learning why her daughter ultimately chose to come to Liberty. 

Melanie’s daughter Maddy echoed her mother’s sentiment. 

“I like showing my parents around my school so that they can see what my daily life is like,” Maddy Willis said. “They can get a feel for my environment, and it is fun to see them walk in my shoes for a day.”

A lot of prayer and planning goes into pulling off a successful Family Weekend. The Parent & Family Connections staff spends most of the year planning for the annual event. 

“We begin planning the event several months ahead of time, maybe even a year ahead,” Shakro said. “We start planning in January and February, reaching out to the other departments and working with the University Events department, making sure all the logistics come into place.” 

Liberty has hosted its annual Family Weekend since Dr. Jerry Falwell established Parent Programs in 1997. This parent-focused department was one of the first of its kind and has since influenced surrounding schools to start up family engagement programs of their own.

“Slowly across the nation, I’ve watched parent programs open in other places of higher education, particularly since the pandemic,” Tamatha Anthony, assistant director of Parent & Family Connections, said. “Family and those connections have been highlighted as to how valuable they are to well-being, and well-being helps us to succeed.”

Anthony said her favorite part of Family Weekend was witnessing her colleagues from different departments come together to make up the body of Christ.

“We all have different parts, and we all do student engagement in a different way. But we are all of one mind in that sense of being here as a body of Christ,” she said. “I love just that picture. You can kind of stand and look over the whole lawn and see families, students, Liberty staff, faculty and Sparky. You can see all of
it represented.” 

White is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion