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For Furman’s newest families, Family Weekend feels a little like coming home
Neal Kuthiala ’30, center, shops for Furman gear with his family at the Bell Tower Bookstore during Family Weekend.
Only weeks into their first semester, the three students welcomed their families back to a campus they once explored together during the college search. This time, their families experienced Furman differently: through the activities, traditions, places and people that are becoming part of their students’ everyday lives.
Inside the Bell Tower Bookstore, Neal Kuthiala ’30 shopped for Paladin gear with his family before heading to the football game.
Kuthiala, a first-year studying business from Jacksonville, Florida, got to know Furman and Greenville with his family during visits before arriving on campus. They fell in love with both, and now the places they first explored while considering Furman have become part of the time they spend together when his family returns.
His father especially loves the nearby mountains, and the family made time for dinner in downtown Greenville during the weekend before joining the crowds of purple at Saturday’s football game.
Jason and Kim Land show their Paladin pride during Family Weekend while supporting their daughter, Kelsey Land ’30.
For Jason and Kim Land of Spartanburg, South Carolina, that sense of connection to Furman began before their daughter, Kelsey Land ’30, arrived for her first semester.
Kelsey, a neuroscience major and Furman cheerleader, first visited campus with her family during her college search. Jason and Kim said they enjoyed their visits from the beginning, but it was the relationships they formed with people at Furman that stayed with them.
“It just felt right,” Kim said. “It felt like home.”
Family Weekend gave Jason and Kim the chance to return to that community and see Kelsey becoming part of it. Kelsey spent part of the weekend working with young cheerleaders at a clinic ahead of their halftime performance, while her parents prepared to head to the tailgate and then the football game to support their daughter and the Paladins.
Gilbert and Damaris Zayas with their daughter, Camilla Zayas ’30, at the Family Weekend barbecue in the Physical Activities Center.
Gilbert and Damaris Zayas spent Saturday catching up with their daughter, Camilla Zayas ’30, over lunch at the Family Weekend barbecue in the Physical Activities Center before heading to the football game.
Camilla, a vocal performance major from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, spent her first weeks at Furman exploring the opportunities around her. She looked into student organizations, recently auditioned for the opera and roams Greenville any chance she gets.
Her parents are already fans the area, too. Gilbert enjoys his walks along the Falls River, and after the football game, another dinner in downtown Greenville was already on the family’s agenda.
“I’m already looking to move here,” Gilbert said as the family laughed.
He loves Greenville, but he especially loves that it has become a place he can enjoy with his daughter. For Gilbert and Damaris, those visits carry a little extra meaning. Camilla is the youngest of their three children and the last to leave home for college.
Across campus, families spent the weekend sharing meals, picking out Furman gear, heading to the tailgate and filling the stands to cheer on the Paladins. The campus they once explored while deciding where to go to college now holds new meaning. And for families who said Furman felt like home when they first visited, the weekend offered an early glimpse of their children beginning to make it one.
