50th annual Family Weekend a success

More than 1,200 Emerson parents and family members got a peek into their students’ college lives at the 50th Annual Family Weekend, October 21–23. A tradition at Emerson, Family Weekend is packed with events that showcase life at Emerson inside and outside the classroom. This year’s theme was “Generations of Innovation.”

Jenny Sorensen flew in from Texas to spend Family Weekend with her son Dillon. “We loved everything,” she said. “The city is wonderful, the campus. We love all of it. It’s just such a neat school.”

Highlights of the weekend included performances of Cloud Nine by Emerson Stage, an EVVY Awards Showcase, two Emerson Lions’ women’s volleyball games and one women’s soccer game, and the Family Weekend Talent Showcase at the Cutler Majestic Theatre.

The weekend also featured mini-college sessions that students and their families took part in together. The sessions were specially designed topical courses moderated by faculty members, such as Writing the Film Musical, taught by Assistant Professor Diane Lake, and Cross-cultural Advertising, taught by Assistant Professor Mariko Morimoto.

Associate Professor of Visual and Media Arts Martie Cook used an episode of I Love Lucy to demonstrate to parents how the structure of today’s sitcoms is still similar to the structure of the 1950s-era show in her session Comedy Writing for Television 101. “It’s a fun exercise and it’s a really fast way for them to understand the world of television and think about it in ways that I think they hadn’t,” said Cook. “It’s really exciting to watch them enjoy the classroom experience the way their kids enjoy the classroom experience.”

Eileen McBride, scholar-in-residence in Communication Sciences and Disorders, taught a session called Reciprocal Roles, a portion of the course she teaches at Emerson in Developmental Psychology. She taught parents about “emerging adulthood” or adolescence and how generations interact with one another. She thought parents enjoyed it because of its relevance to their lives. “I think they like that their students are hearing this kind of stuff and that it’s useful for them dealing with their own transitions in college,” she said.

In addition to the mini-college sessions, family members also got to explore many of the extracurricular activities at Emerson during sessions about Alternative Spring Break, Multicultural Student Affairs, WERS, and other Emerson organizations.

“The weekend gave me tremendous insight into campus life and what goes on on campus, especially for a freshman,” said Cam Williams, whose daughter enrolled at Emerson in September.

The weekend concluded with the president’s breakfast at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, hosted by President Pelton and Emerson’s Parents Leadership Council, where families learned about how to become more involved on campus.

Photos by Lauren Foley '13