A Fall Debut for Family Weekend

Loyola Marymount University's Family Weekend made its fall debut from Oct. 24-27, 2024, bringing 1,100 families and 3,000 participants to the bluff. Parents and families from across the country gathered with their students to celebrate Lion pride and participate in various unique experiences that showcase life as a member of the LMU community.

"The success of Family Weekend really was about how our whole campus community came together to showcase what life at LMU is like for our parents and families," said Briana Maturi, director of Student Transitions and Success. "The move to fall was really based on feedback from our parents and families and offered us the opportunity to showcase new programs and events by moving into the fall semester."

Family Weekend welcomed new programs and event offerings for parents and families. On Thursday, the first day of Family Weekend kicked off with the eighth Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour hosted by LMU School of Film and Television. The festival presented renowned heritage films from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the United States, all digitally restored. On Thursday evening, the festival began with an outdoor screening on the Drollinger Family Stage of a silent short by George Melies, "The Infernal Cauldron," with musical accompaniment composed by President Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D. The short was followed by a screening of Buster Keaton's "Battling Butler" with live musical accompaniment performed by composer Wayne Barker. Attendees were able to enjoy popcorn while they watched both films outside. Other films throughout the weekend included:

• "Nosferatu" (F. W. Murnau, Germany, 1922)
• "Smog" (Franco Rossi, Italy, 1962)
• "The Golem: How He Came into the World" (Paul Wegener and Paul Boese, Germany, 1921)
• "Time Masters" (René Laloux, France-Switzerland-West Germany, 1982)
• "Black Sunday" (Mario Bava, Italy, 1960)
• "Meeting of Two Queens" (Cecilia Barriga, Chile, 1991)
• "Shanghai Express" (Josef von Sternberg, US, 1932)
• "Queen Christina" (Rouben Mamoulian, US, 1933).

On Friday morning, the campus kicked off the first full day of Family Weekend with a Campus Resource and On-Campus Job Fair. Over 30 departments came out to a table on Alumni Mall to share how they support students in their journey and whether they have opportunities for students to seek employment on campus.

One of the highlight programs of the weekend was the inclusion of LMU's Global Conversations series in partnership with the Provost's Office. This series was hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., in conversation on Friday afternoon with actor Ed O'Neill and on Saturday morning with actor and singer Anthony Ramos. This marked the third year of this series at LMU and the first time it has been made available for parents and families. Over 500 participants watched "Finding Your Roots" episodes with each guest, followed by a conversation on the Drollinger Family Stage.

The move to the fall semester also allowed LMU to highlight different athletic and club sports programs, including men's water polo, men's soccer, and men's club hockey. Fans got to cheer on the Lions using a new rally towel at the Burns Recreation Center pool during the men's water polo game against Pepperdine. The men's club hockey hosted a banquet on Saturday afternoon to celebrate their 20 years of competition. During the program, the team also introduced two new 2024 inductees to the Men's Club Hockey Hall of Fame: Bobby Arnold '12, health and human sciences professor, and club hockey athletic trainer Sarah Strand. Following the reception, the team traveled to Skating Edge Ice Arena in Harbor City, where they played California State University Northridge. On Saturday evening, fans headed to Sullivan Field for food trucks and Lion Pride scarves sponsored by Family Weekend and ASLMU. Legacy families were also treated to a special tailgate-like experience with Alumni and Family Engagement on the side of the stands.

On Saturday evening, LMU Dance hosted its annual dance showcase, "Impulse: Campus in Motion," a unique event for the department because each performance in the showcase is completely choreographed, danced, and directed by students. The showcase also featured performances from LMU's dance crews, Kuumba, Genesis, and Radix. With Family Weekend moving to fall, student dancers and these dance crews had the opportunity to showcase their amazing work to parents and families who could not attend other performances throughout the academic year.

Career and Professional Development hosted a Lion Parent Panel on Friday afternoon offering key insights on how to support students' career goals. Parent panelists from varying industries shared their career successes and how they support students in reaching their career goals. They also guided how parents can help ignite their students' professional journey. Ed Avila, the founder, and CEO of BullishIQ, a recruitment intelligence group dedicated to assisting startups to hire top talent, and a published author, moderated the panel of LMU parents that included:

• Sean Aggarwal, a lead independent director for Lyft and the co-founder and chairman of Borderless AI, the first company in the world to bring artificial intelligence agents into the human resources industry;
• Steve Cadigan, LinkedIn's former chief human resource officer and part of the leadership team that took LinkedIn public;
• Monique O'Grady, the senior manager of communications at The Pew Charitable Trusts, board chair, and national advocate for Montessori;
• Andrea Russell, an accomplished senior tech executive who currently serves as chief of staff and strategy for Microsoft America's chief operating officer;
• Tim Russell, a talent management leader with deep experience across multiple industries who has pioneered large-scale learning and performance ecosystems for Fortune 500 companies.

The campus community closed out Friday with an annual tradition, Sorority and Fraternity Life's Lip Sync competition. The competition had a primary goal of raising money for the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, the largest provider of financial assistance to families of kids with cancer in the U.S. This year, the Lip Sync competition raised $16,900 on Friday evening alone combined with two weeks of fundraising before the event bringing in $53,000 for the B+ Foundation. The evening concluded with the announcement of the winners of the competition for various awards:

• Fraternity Winner: Delta Sigma Phi, InterFraternity Council
• Sorority Winner: Alpha Chi Omega, Collegiate Panhellenic Council

On Saturday, attendees had the chance to attend the Black Family BBQ at the Mbongi Spot and learn how they can support their students in connecting with campus partners during the Community Connections luncheon in Sculpture Garden. After lunch, LGBT Student Services and the Residence Hall Association offered students and their families an opportunity to dive into their creativity by painting pictures, tie-dyeing shirts, or rally towels they could take home. Saturday also included the annual Lion Spirit Showcase hosted by Mane Entertainment, which included food trucks and opportunities to listen to students share their talents on stage.

Family Weekend concluded on Sunday with a Mass in Sacred Heart Chapel and an Intercultural Reception in Sculpture Garden, which included performances from several of LMU's student organizations. A special shout-out goes out to the many departments and student organizations on campus that helped provide this experience to all the Lion parents and families. LMU looks forward to hosting families again in the fall for LMU Family Weekend 2025 on Oct. 23-26.

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