{"157821":{"#nid":"157821","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Parents Connect at Family Weekend 2012","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn September 21 and 22, the Georgia Tech Parents Program hosted its annual Family Weekend and found it to be just as successful as ever in helping parents connect to the Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKimberly Sterritt, director of the Parents Program, and the Family Weekend Planning Committee structured this year\u2019s programs based upon their successes in the past. \u201cWhile we do offer a variety of activities for families to participate in, we find that parents and students enjoy just being together. Family Weekend provides this plus the opportunity to relish in what Tech has to offer. \u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd the formula works. With 37 states and 5 countries represented, Family Weekend 2012 drew in 640 families for a grand total of 2,386 participants. This event consistently attracts around 2,400 participants, making it one of the largest events on campus. And while the event does attract many first year parents, there are quite a few upperclassman parents who participate in Family Weekend.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs one enthusiastic parent wrote, \u201cHi, I love GT! You all do a great job! This was my fourth Family weekend. My son is actually graduating a semester early, in December, but we would love to come back for Family Weekend.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe goal is to keep the weekend as fresh as possible so parents can continue to enjoy themselves year after year. That requires us to use the data from the surveys to improve upon and even revamp the programming where warranted.\u201d says Kim Sterritt.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe year\u2019s itinerary was comprised of a series of presentations and panel discussions, academic receptions, special Friday night programming, and, of course, the tailgate party on Tech Tower Lawn preceding the game against Miami.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFriday\u2019s seminars which included \u201cTalk to a Recruiter,\u201d \u201cSupporting Student Success,\u201d and \u201cTech History 101\u201d delivered strong turnouts and were well-received by all. As one parent recounts the \u201cTalk to a Recruiter\u201d seminar, \u201cIt was very informative and helpful in how to support my student in becoming successful after graduation. I was very impressed with the panelists\u0027 experience, knowledge, and advice.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the various college and school receptions across campus, faculty and staff were encouraged to attend and facilitate interaction between students, parents, and themselves while providing parents with the opportunity to ask questions about specific programs offered to their students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFriday night\u2019s programming typically offers something different every year and, this year, the focus was on the arts. The night offered two venues for Family Weekend guests - a reception and open-house at the High Museum of Art and a performance at the Ferst Center for the Arts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd of course, Family Weekend culminated with Saturday\u2019s tailgate party and football game. While the Parents Program couldn\u2019t plan the outcome of the game, they did an excellent job planning a tailgate party which attracted more than 1,100 people.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is a lot of effort but well worth it. We are extremely grateful for all the support we received from the staff in the Division of Student Affairs as well as our campus partners in making this an enjoyable event for our families.\u201d adds Sterritt.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDates for Family Weekend 2013 will be announced in late February 2013. For more information on Family Weekend, contact Kim Sterritt, director of the Parents Program.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn September 21 and 22, the Georgia Tech Parents Program hosted its annual Family Weekend and found it to be just as successful as ever in helping parents connect to the Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27164","created_gmt":"2012-09-28 16:28:59","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:54","author":"Rachael Pocklington","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"157851":{"id":"157851","type":"image","title":"Family Weekend 2012 Tailgate","body":null,"created":"1449178883","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:23","changed":"1475894792","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:32","alt":"Family Weekend 2012 Tailgate","file":{"fid":"195338","name":"13c8411-p3-012.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13c8411-p3-012_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13c8411-p3-012_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2879954,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/13c8411-p3-012_0.jpg?itok=I1cJYqBY"}},"157871":{"id":"157871","type":"image","title":"Picture with Buzz at Family Weekend","body":null,"created":"1449178883","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:23","changed":"1475894792","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:32","alt":"Picture with Buzz at Family Weekend","file":{"fid":"195339","name":"13c8411-p3-040.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13c8411-p3-040_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13c8411-p3-040_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1943067,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/13c8411-p3-040_0.jpg?itok=zW-sHcXj"}}},"media_ids":["157851","157871"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.familyweekend.gatech.edu\/","title":"Family Weekend 2010"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Georgia-Tech-Family-Weekend\/82023496508","title":"Family Weekend Facebook Page"},{"url":"http:\/\/parents.gatech.edu\/index.php","title":"Georgia Tech Parents Program"}],"groups":[{"id":"1298","name":"Parent and Family Programs"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"2939","name":"family weekend"},{"id":"9131","name":"parents program"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKim Sterritt\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector, Parents Program\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ksterritt@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eksterritt@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["parents@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}