By Ashlyn Beck | News Editor
This weekend, a procession of thousands of Baylor parents will arrive in Waco for Family Weekend. The occasion comes around every September, and Helotes senior and Family Weekend Chair Sophia Cantu said this year will follow the usual formula — but it’ll be on a grander scale than ever before.
Attendees will start rolling in Friday afternoon for a Meet the Faculty and Welcome Hour, which will be followed by a long list of activities and end with Baylor football facing Samford at 11:00 a.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium.
Cantu and her team have planned and prepared for the event for eight months now, including throughout the summer. After long months of bouncing ideas around, Cantu said she had a plan for the event. She would stay true to the event’s tradition, while also performing the traditions on a larger scale than before.
“I knew from the moment we started preparation that I wanted every aspect of the weekend to revolve around community and creating a peaceful environment,” Cantu said. “I want every person who steps on campus this weekend to feel at home and for the primary focus to be spending time with their loved ones.”
Taste of Waco will remain the same, but with more food trucks than ever before. Marketplace will feature more shopping vendors than years past. According to Cantu, even Welcome Hour will be the same, but with some small additions.
Strategically placed a few weeks into the fall semester, Family Weekend is an opportunity for freshmen to see familiar faces and unwind from the start of the school year. While Family Weekend is often marketed for freshmen, Cantu said it’s an opportunity for all students to connect with their families.
“This is a good opportunity for families to reunite and spend quality time together on Baylor’s campus,” Cantu said. “Some parents may have only visited campus once, or perhaps not at all, and this is the time for them to be fully welcomed into our Baylor family.”
But Family Weekend isn’t just an event for local students. Beijing freshman Weiyong Meng said the event is a good opportunity for her to connect with other students and their families.
“For international students, it’s a great opportunity to meet other people, meet other new students and their family members,” Meng said. “It’s good for us to connect with more cultures and more people in the world.”
Similarly, Singapore freshman Sarah Ariel said the event might even be more important for students who aren’t local.
“I think it’s good for families to get to know Waco, and I think that’s important and helps them understand their students’ lives better,” Ariel said. “Most students aren’t actually from Waco, so their families might not be familiar with it.”
According to the Family Weekend website, there is no shortage of events introducing families to Baylor’s culture and Waco’s charm. Some of the highlights include Meet the Faculty and Welcome Hour, a Lauren Daigle concert, Taste of Waco, After Dark and the Saturday football game against Samford.
“Students bring their families to each event, and they meet one another for the first time, bonding over their mutual love for our university,” Cantu said. “The conversations and memories made during Family Weekend make all the planning and execution of the event worth it.”
With a tradition as old as Family Weekend, Cantu said knowing its place in Baylor’s history greatly influenced her planning for the event. For years, Family Weekend has brought many individuals together into one big Baylor family, and Cantu said she wanted to replicate that in this year’s event.
“The best part of being involved in this event is that each year we replicate the previous one and try to raise the bar every time,” Cantu said. “The core of the weekend remains the same each year, and that’s what truly makes Family Weekend special.”
