Send-off Parties welcome students and their parents to the Baylor family

Orientation covers the practicals of enrolling at Baylor, like registering for classes. Line Camp introduces new students to the history of Baylor. Welcome Week provides a few days for freshmen and transfers to get used to campus before classes start. Each of these activities serves a useful role for new students, but only one occasion is designed expressly to welcome both the students and their parents into the Baylor family: Send-off Parties.

Each summer, the Baylor Parents League hosts countless Send-off Parties all across the country to kick-off the year. (See photos from some of this summer’s parties here.) Baylor students are greeted by other members of the Baylor family in their own communities before they even arrive in Waco, as the gatherings are held at churches, community centers and even individual homes. (Parents of current and former students as well as alumni help host each event.) The parties provide a chance for students to meet other soon-to-be Bears and for parents, too, to meet others whose children are headed to Waco in the fall. University representatives attend each party to answer any last-minute questions.

Of course, Send-off Parties aren’t the only time parents are encouraged to engage with Baylor. Local Parents League chapters continue to meet nationwide throughout the year as a resource and support for parents of Baylor students. Parents are an important part of the Baylor family, and the Parents League is their connection, offering helpful e-mails, newsletters, even a helpline; get more info on their offerings at www.baylor.edu/parentsleague.

Sic ’em, Baylor parents!