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By: Bob E. Gasper, Parents Council Member 

We’ve all heard the old adage “When life gives you lemons, you take them to the Penn State Creamery and make Lemon Sherbet.” Life has been throwing us some fast-ball lemons since March. When I was asked to write this blog post back in February, the main goal was to help parents understand the value of Parents Weekend — how there were benefits that were different from a typical “football weekend”.  Well, here we sit mid-September with no football weekends on the horizon. It’s just one of the extraordinary measures the University has taken to reduce the spread of coronavirus and the risks associated with it.  Damon Sims, the University VP of Student Affairs, has stated “I ask that you stay away, and that you encourage your sons and daughters to stay where they are. “ 

Every year, Parents and Families Weekend is specifically scheduled about six weeks into the fall semester. That is usually when students have settled in, have finished their first round of exams, and are missing that home connection more than ever. This is when they need that little bit of extra care. 

And from a parent’s point of view— we have been trying our best to not be involved in every decision. We have let them leave the nest and we are hoping they are learning to fly. But we want to see them, too! 

As members of the Penn State Parents Council, we knew immediately that we did not want to cancel our annual Parents and Families Weekend, but we realized quickly that it could not be in the same format as in years past. Through our planning process, we realized there are actually benefits to a virtual parents weekend: No wrestling for a Saturday night dinner reservation, no jockeying for a hotel room and no hotel bill Sunday morning!  Families who live out of state or internationally will be able to participate easily. We started to see it as an opportunity to engage even more parents than usual. Traveling, scheduling, or finances are not a barrier to participation this year. 

So, we set out looking to find ways that parents and students could connect.  One solution was care packages—Family Pride Packs. While we can’t reach out and hug our students, a warm Penn State blanket might be the next best thing.  We also thought it was important that parents received a little care, too! To make you feel warm inside, the parent pack includes a hot beverage mug.  But wait! There’s more!!! Both care packages include a Flat Lion (like Flat Stanley, but a Nittany Lion). Your student can send you pictures with the lion from campus— and you can send lion pictures from home. Plus, we encourage you to share your flat lion photos on social media using the #IHaveaNittanyLion and #PSUFamily hashtags  

The ordering window is intentionally short. We want to be sure the packs arrive soon!  Order your Family Pride Pack no later than September 14.  

The campus always seems especially vibrant in autumn as the leaves begin to change. It will be difficult this year to not be in Happy Valley but we hope everyone will take advantage of the virtual events we have planned.  Our goal was to help you feel more of a connection to student life at Penn State, connect you a bit more to your student, AND connect your student to you.  

Here is the link for everything you will need for parents weekend. You can check out the schedule beginning September 10. Starting on Friday, October 2, you can find the events links on the Parents and Families Weekend website. Ideally, you can watch along with your student and these events can be a springboard for conversations. We tried our best to make segments engaging, informative and fun. And we even have breaks built into the schedule so you don’t get “zoomed out”.

We all know that times are tough, and for some, they are even tougher. As parents, we often find ourselves asking, “What can I do to help?”  Penn State has set up a Student Emergency Fund to help Penn State students facing unexpected hardship due to the coronavirus or other unexpected challenges. The fund is used for tuition, housing, meals, books, supplies, and more. If you find yourself able to make a donation, please use this link: https://app.mobilecause.com/e/IUo4ag?vid=b56zc  

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to reevaluate many things. There are changes and benefits to having virtual Parents and Families Weekend, and we are hoping these additions will become an integral part of future events. Indeed, there are many ways to engage parents from afar. 

But fingers crossed — We will all be standing in a long healthy line at the Creamery this time next year! 

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