Wearing a bow tie is a way to make a unique fashion statement. During this upcoming Family Weekend, it is also a way to support students and families and strengthen the Syracuse University community.
Marcus Peterson, a senior in the School of Education, is pictured with his dad on the SU campus. The Petersons participate in Project Transition.
The School of Education, together with the University’s Student Philanthropy Council (SPC), will be selling Syracuse University bow ties through BowTies for a Cause, to support the Project Transition initiative. Bow ties will be sold in the Panasci Lounge in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center on Friday, Nov. 1, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Bow ties may also be purchased online at http://bowtiecause.com/products/syracuse-university.
Project Transition, a nationally recognized program, was established at Syracuse University in 1999 (then known as the Parent Education Project) and housed in the School of Education. The initiative pays for transportation and housing for two members of a student’s family to visit for Family Weekend and culminates in a graduation dinner at Commencement when it would otherwise be impossible for them to take part in these important family milestones. In 1999, 20 students and their families were served; in 2012, that number reached 130.
As part of their Family Weekend experience, families attend the football game and a concert, and have breakfast with the dean of their student’s school or college.
The initiative helps families to stay engaged in their student’s college experience. “There is a direct correlation between parental involvement, student success and, ultimately, the graduation rate of at-risk students,” says Robert Wilson, director of Student Support Services, who coordinates the program with Denise Trionfero, the director of the Higher Education Opportunity Program. “Students with families participating have proven to have excellent success at SU and build a strong affinity for their alma mater.”
In addition to attending important events on the SU campus, parents also participate in off-campus information sessions throughout the year, beginning with an April meeting at Lubin House in New York City, before enrollment, where expectations are outlined, and followed by a January meeting to review fall semester grades and spring semester resources.
Curtis Richardson of Bronx, a senior finance and real estate major in the Whitman School of Management, says participating in Project Transition has been a great experience for his family. “Not everybody in my family got the chance to go to college, so when they do come here they get a glimpse of what the college life is about,” he says. “This was a great opportunity when my sister was looking at colleges, because she got to visit campus and see all the resources available to her.”
Richardson says the chance to see his family during the semester is one he is grateful for. “I love this event during the fall semester because it really allows students to take that mental break and be reminded of all the things that they love and cherish. My mother has been on every Family Weekend since my time at Syracuse University. She loves the event so much that she marks it on her calendar and raves about it throughout the year,” he says. “It gives a taste of home when it is needed the most.”
The Project Transition initiative is a natural fit with the SPC, whose members work to promote the idea of giving back.
“For me, it is really amazing to see the direct result of people who have given generously to the cause of Project Transition in the families who are able to come to Syracuse for Family Weekend,” says SPC member Ashlee Sage Newman, a sophomore political science and policy studies major in The College of Arts and Sciences. “Seeing this application of giving back and being a part of it truly represents the amazing part of being a member of the Student Philanthropy Council. Being able to promote this idea is something that I am honored to have the opportunity to do, to share the message of continual exchange between current students and SU alumni that impacts every person on campus in some way.”
More information on Project Transition can be found at http://giving.syr.edu/special-initiatives/project-transition/.
