A great day leading into a great weekend

In this Issue:

• Family Weekend starts tomorrow – highlighting some additional programming
• Additional study abroad Zoom session
• Generational debate: can you bring an iced coffee to your interview?

Today is Hit the Bricks – one of my very favorite days on campus. I am part of our University Marketing and Communications team (your Deacs might see some of us in our RUN UMC hats). And tomorrow starts Family Weekend – we can’t wait to see all our parents and families! The forecast looks a bit iffy rainwise, so please plan accordingly:

Let’s get right to it!

Family Weekend starts tomorrow – highlighting some info and additional programming

The Family Weekend team wants all families to know it is not too late to participate in Family Weekend. On-site registrations are available on Friday and Saturday morning and are $75 per family.

Some have asked me about how to get their football tickets. You can find out how to access mobile tickets – and see all sorts of gameday logistics – at the Gameday Central website.

The Family Weekend schedule is available here. The Family Weekend team wanted to highlight just a few of the many events of the weekend that you may want to consider:

Friday events:

• Historic Odd Fellows Cemetery | Behind-the-Scenes Tour (10:15 am-12:15 pm) – This program is an opportunity for families to participate in ongoing archaeological research at Historic Odd Fellows Cemetery, an African American cemetery located just 5 minutes from campus. Participants will learn about the history of the 13 acre cemetery and how Wake Forest University has been actively partnering with The Friends of Odd Fellows Cemetery through the Cultural Heritage and Archaeology Research Group. They will participate in a walking tour of the site with Wake Forest’s Dr. Terry Brock, and then interested participants can stay and help clear brush, leaves, and debris covering headstones and plots so they can be mapped and documented. This program does require a sign-up, so be sure to reserve your spot! 
• Explore the Hanes Art Gallery during Family Weekend to experience our fall exhibition, High Visibility: Hank Willis Thomas. This striking exhibition highlights the work of contemporary artist Hank Willis Thomas, whose multidisciplinary pieces examine identity, history, race, consumer culture, and the media.To make the most of your visit, drop in on Friday between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM for a special student-led open house. Student docents will be stationed throughout the space to share background stories about the art, answer questions, and chat with families as you view the exhibition.
• Tour Wait Chapel Tour – We will be offering small group tours of the Wait Chapel Tower every fifteen minutes starting at 1pm on Friday, October 2nd.  Come see some great views and learn about the tower and its traditions such as Senior Signing. Registration for the tours is being taken at the event starting at 12:40 p.m. and running until 3 p.m. Group sizes are limited to 10 people per tour. Families will not be able to sign the tower.

Saturday events

• Reynolda House presents Chimes of Freedom (7:30-9:30 pm): Folk Singers and Fellow Travelers, a musical performance series presented in conjunction with the fall exhibition, Flash Point: The Civil Rights Photography of Danny Lyon. Through contemporary interpretations of music associated with Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, and other performers connected to the Civil Rights Movement, Chimes explores the cultural landscape in which Lyon’s photographs were made. The performance will reflect on a moment when musicians, activists, and artists were engaged in a shared project of witnessing and social change. Tickets are required for this event.
• The Firebugs (7:30 p.m.) – Hosted by Wake the Arts and Anthony Aston Players – A chorus of firefighters and all the newspapers warn of dangerous arsonists on the loose. The upstanding Gottlieb and Babette Biedermann invite two strangers (who smell of gasoline) into their comfortable home to sleep in their attic. Surely these charmers can’t be the firebugs. . . Max Frisch’s funny and pointed political satire warns of the perils of complacency and playing it safe in a dangerous, combustible world.” Tickets are required for this event.

Sunday events:

• Women’s Soccer Game vs. NC State (5-7 p.m.) – Cheer on our Deacs at Spry Stadium. It’s always a blast when we compete against another NC team. It will be a fun one!
• Check out all of our Club Sport games on campus. They are free to attend and quite fun to watch! Events run throughout the day at various times, so check the schedule for games of interest.
• Men’s Basketball Game vs. Georgetown (Exhibition) (12:30-2:30 p.m.) – Come out and watch the Wake Forest Men’s Basketball team take on Georgetown on Sunday afternoon! General admission tickets for the game are $10 plus fees, and kids under 12 are free!

We wish you all safe travels to campus and a wonderful weekend. Go Deacs!

Additional study abroad Zoom session

Several families emailed me yesterday to say the Oct. 28 Zoom session re study abroad was full. A second session has been opened; details below:

November Zoom Session: The Semester Abroad Application Process

• Who it’s for: Families of students applying to spend the Fall 2027 or Spring 2028 semester abroad.
• What we’ll cover: A complete walkthrough of the new single application process, timeline expectations, financial considerations, and program selection.
• When: November 3rd at 7:30 p.m., register here!

Due to staff capacity, there are only two total Zoom sessions available, but the Center for Global Programs and Studies (GPS) will post the slides with a voiceover around the 10th of November for those who could not join live.

Families can also come by the Center for Global Programs and Studies’ open house for Family Weekend tomorrow (Friday) from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in Reynolda Hall 116 and parents can always email me with questions

Generational debate: can you bring an iced coffee to your interview?

I don’t make the news, friends: I just share it 🙂 I saw this article this morning and cannot resist passing it on. Do you remember back in 2015 where there was an internet controversy about whether a dress was white and gold or blue and black (here’s a refresher)? Apparently the interet is abuzz, generationally based, on whether it is ok for someone to bring an iced coffee to a job interview.

Knowing we have students who are (or will be) job searching, I share this article just as food for thought. Students are hopefully using our OPCD (Office of Personal and Career Development) as they prep for job or internship interviews. If they are iced coffee lovers, they may want to get the opinions of the OPCD experts about how they interpret showing up at an interview with an iced coffee, just to get an opinion on business etiquette.