JORDAN GRINDER
STAFF WRITER
From Oct. 5 through 7, the Alma College Union Board put on Little Sibs Weekend, which offered students the opportunity to connect with their siblings along with participating in a variety of events over the weekend.
“I think it [was] a great opportunity for students to bring siblings up, especially students who may be homesick, and I think it’s important that they have a little piece of home here on campus often because ultimately that’s what makes Alma College home for them,” said ACUB Head of Staff TiKilah Turner (‘19).
The primary event of the weekend was an excursion to the Anderson and & Girls Orchards to partake in the petting zoo and other activities. Other entertainment options included rock climbing at the Stone Recreation Center, along with a Rainforest Obstacle Course.
Turner, who handled most of ACUB’s purchases for the event, was excited to see the event play out. “I’m just so excited for a successful event to [have] happen[ed] and for all of the hard work that myself and all the rest of the staff to [have] really blossom[ed] into this amazing event.”
Older siblings are also able to participate alongside younger ones. “We [tried] to cater to all age groups for this event. For example, when I ordered the inflatable I wanted to make sure that people who are about aged 13 or 14 could also be a part of it,” said Turner.
“The excursion to Anderson & Girls also cover[ed] all ages because they [had] a few animals that can be found in the jungle as well. I think it’s cool to be able to see that,” said Turner.
“Even if an activity [didn’t] seem like it would be fun everyone wants to act like a kid again and why wouldn’t you want to visit your sibling at school!?” said Molly McCranner ’19).
Turner spoke on the difficulties that came with hosting the event like ordering inflatables t-shirts in the midst of coordinating events while also posting to social media.
“It’s the small things that [made] it challenging — the things that are easy to forget,” said Turner.
Turner hopes that little siblings got a sense of Alma College while they were here. “I hope they [were] immersed in the Alma College culture, even a little bit, their experience [was] different than that of a student, but I hope that they [got] a taste of what it’s like for students.”
“I hope that Little sibs [got] memories that’ll last. It is such a change in a family dynamic when one of the kids leaves for college, so it [was] a great opportunity where we [had] a bunch of fun and interactive activities for an entire weekend,” said McCranner.
