Families pray, sing, say goodbye as Welcome Week winds down
Photos by Ralph Freso/Slideshow
Two incoming freshmen stood just a few feet apart, each feeling the weight of Lope Family Sendoff in their own way.
Promise Jacobs held close to her mom and younger sister, admitting this will be her first time alone away from home. Collin Smotherman wrapped his arms around both parents, more excited than nervous, insisting he’s ready for this new season.
Around them in Antelope Gymnasium, hundreds of other families ran the same emotional spectrum as they prayed, sang and prepared to say goodbye.
The annual Welcome Week Lope Family Sendoff – part worship service, part commissioning and part family farewell – is Grand Canyon University’s way of slowing down a week of big moments so parents and students can mark the transition together.
The Jacobs family spent most of the hour holding hands, hugging or wiping tears. Promise said she was nervous and sad.
Leading worship, alumna Vanessa Torres, could empathize with the nerves and fears many parents and students carried into the building. In that same gym years ago, Torres once sat overwhelmed as a lonely freshman.
“I was sitting up there sobbing because I was just having such a hard time,” she said. “I was like, ‘God, why is it so hard for me to make friends? I don’t feel like I’m fitting in. It’s such a big school. I’m lost. I don’t really have my people.’ And I was just sad.”
She prayed, “Lord, if you've been faithful to bring me to GCU, I'm going to have to believe that you're going to be faithful to see me through.”
The next day, Torres met a group of people who became her lifelong friends and supported her throughout her college years. Now a worship leader, Torres used the story as an invitation for freshmen taking their first steps into independence.
“I just want to encourage you guys. I know that college can be a scary time,” she said. “Whether you’re a parent helping drop off your kid, or whether you are the college freshman, it is scary, and it’s OK. It’s OK to ask for help. But just know that God, in all of His goodness and His faithfulness, is going to see you through.”
Following worship, Dr. Tim Griffin, GCU’s vice president of Student Affairs, dean of students and campus pastor, reflected on his own sendoff experience when dropping off two sons at GCU. He encouraged families to enjoy this time, as it goes quickly. He also tried to ease the heavy hearts.
“I want you to know this: that we don’t see it as any small thing when a student comes to the university,” Griffin said. “You need to know that there’s a staff and there’s a faculty, there’s an administration that cares deeply about your students. … We will do our very best to encourage them and guide them and support them in their best moments, and in their toughest moments.”
For the Jacobs family, from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, those assurances met very real concerns.
“This will be my first time being alone without them,” Promise said.
Her mother, Angela, stood beside her, proud and bracing herself.
“I’m just so proud of her,” Angela said. “I know that it’s what I’ve been raising her for. God has a great plan for her. It’s going to be an adjustment, but I know that she’s going to do really great.”
Promise said Torres’ testimony helped ease some of her anxiety. And Griffin’s prompt for students to thank their families also helped calm nerves.
“I’m grateful to have them, and I’m not alone,” Promise said.
Across the gym, Smotherman, from just outside Sacramento, radiated a different but equally honest energy. He described himself as “more excited than anything.”
Smotherman said he came in with a built-in safety net – he’s rooming with a friend from high school – though quickly discovered he might not need it.
“I got here, and I realized it’s so hard not to have someone,” he said. “Everybody here is willing to be your friend, be someone for you.”
His mother, Jenny Smotherman, said Collin had been “looking forward to this for a long time,” ever since a Discover GCU trip turned into two trips and a countdown on his phone.
His father, Josh Smotherman, had mixed feelings.
“Excited for him, excited for us, but it’s scary,” Josh said. “The unknown.”
Still, he said, seeing Collin’s affection and confidence throughout Welcome Week and Lope Family Sendoff fit who he always has been.
“It’s neat to see (all our children) become adults and keeping what we tried to instill in them,” Josh said. “You know, it’s by God’s grace that they become active members of society and participate and just be good people.”
Outside the gym, members of GCU’s volunteer Parent Council poured coffee, handed out doughnuts and, just as often, prayed with parents who were struggling to let go. The group, made up of moms and dads from around the country, meets year-round on Zoom and on campus to support families through moments exactly like Thursday’s sendoff.
Heather Allchin, a Parent Council member from the Chicago area with two sons in GCU’s Colangelo College of Business, spent the morning encouraging families and anyone walking by willing to pause for prayer.
“Under Parent Council, we have soul care, which is prayer encouragement and scripture support,” Allchin said. “The parents are so thrilled that they have somebody to support their families. We are grateful for these opportunities.”
GCU News senior writer Jason Gonzalez can be reached at [email protected].
***
Related Welcome Week content:
GCU News: Lopes' faith ignited at Welcome Week's traditional worship event
GCU News: Volunteers' passion powers GCU Welcome Week
GCU News: Emotion sticks at pinning ceremony welcoming new GCU students
GCU News: New Havocs leaders are ready to kick off 'The biggest party in college basketball'
