Today students had the privilege of hosting their
grandparents on campus, and with a very full schedule of events.
“The goal
of doing this is to get grandparents involved on campus to see what their
students do on a regular basis,” says Emily Stringer. Stringer was the head
coordinator for this event. She thinks that by getting grandparents involved on
campus, OC can continue to grow its Community.
The second annual Legacy Grandparents Day
invited grandparents to spend the day on campus and ended the day with an
Oklahoma City Philharmonic concert.
On Campus Events
On-campus events included breakfast
and coffee in the conservatory after registration.
Grandparents, along with their OC students,
attended a traditional chapel service and then were escorted to the Gaylord
University Center for lunch. U-Dining catering services hosted lunch. During
lunch Steven Eck and President John deSteiguer spoke with grandparents about
the legacy OC will provide for their grandchildren and how even if they did not
attend OC, they too are part of this legacy.
After lunch Bob Rowley and Steven
Eck led two tour busses around campus to allow grandparents to see where their
student attends regular classes and the student residence halls. The tour also
taught about the history of some of the programs and buildings at OC, as well
as current opportunities the students have, such as intramurals and sports
teams.
After the campus tours,
grandparents and their grandchildren enjoyed some time in the Gotcher room
playing cards.
“It was cool spending time with
some of the grandparents and just hanging out and playing card games. They are
all really nice and some of them have great stories to tell,” says Jonathan
Johnson, a freshman at OC and a student worker who helped with the event.
After free time, grandparents
gathered in Scott chapel for a keynote speech given by Willie Steele.
Dinner was served at 5 p.m. by U-Dining
staff. During dinner, Dr. Scott LaMascus gave a keynote about the connections
and relationships that will grow from OC. LaMascus gave reference to the
community and network that the church gives and that OC is a continuation of this
network.
A short time after dinner a charter
bus left to take grandparents, and some students to the Philharmonic in
downtown Oklahoma City.
“There isn’t anything happening on
campus in the afternoon so we decided to do something in the city. Last year
they went and saw an on-campus play, but there isn’t one playing this weekend,”
Stringer notes.
Plans for next year
The staff at the office of advancement will put on next year’s grandparent’s day, and they hope to
increase even more in number. This years turn out was effected strongly by weather.
The weather caused some cancellations due to snow in the northern parts of the state, Stringer said in an interview. Most people traveling from anywhere north of Oklahoma experienced rough road conditions. Some had to cancel their trip altogether.
The team putting together next years event hopes that a walking tour, or tour via golf carts to accommodate for those with disabilities.
“We were going to do a walking tour this year like in years past, but weather was just not permitting,” Stringer says.
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