Chris Kusmierczyk, a healthcare administrator and physical therapist, visited his son Cameron Kusmierczyk, a freshman studying business. The pair played mini-golf at the event Alden Library hosted, and Chris Kusmierczyk said it was nice to spend quality time with his son.
“For me, it’s to spend time with Cameron, my son, and watch some football and play a little golf,” Chris Kusmierczyk said.
As an alumnus of OU, Chris Kusmierczyk noted it was interesting to visit his son and see how he is experiencing OU.
“It’s a lot of fun for me,” Chris Kusmierczyk said. “I went to OU and his mother went to OU, so it’s kind of fun to look back and think about where we were in our similar stage of life and excited for his future for sure.”
While Alden Library hosted its Annual Alden Open, the university supplied many other events and activities for dads and their Bobcats to do.
Joshua Knotts, the assistant director for programming, discussed what the Center for Student Engagement and Leadership was hosting.
“Our event that we’re doing is Donuts with Dad, it’s the second iteration of the event,” Knotts said. “We did it last year with great success and we’re doing it again this year.”
Donuts with Dad was held on the first floor of Baker Center from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday. CSEL collaborated with Life is Sweet providing 1,200 donuts for Bobcats and their dads.
Before the event opened up, Nicholas Ray, a sales director in the food service business, waited with his daughter, Giana Ray, a freshman studying political science pre-law.
Nicholas Ray discussed his emotions toward visiting his daughter on her college campus.
“Reassuring that she is confident in moving in the direction that she’s moving, just gives me confidence in her and watching her grow into a beautiful woman,” Nicholas Ray said.
Giana Ray discussed how it was nice to give her dad an Athens and campus tour.
“I like showing him (places) because I showed him where I go to classes, and I showed him all the ways I get to different places,” Giana Ray said.
After working on Dads Weekend events, Knotts believes dads prefer more relaxed events, which is factored into planning events for family weekends like this one.
“In my experience working here, dads prefer events that maybe are a little bit lower stress, lower time consuming,” Knotts said. “So something like our Donuts with Dads works perfectly because it’s the ultimate grab-and-go event.”
Claire Richards, a senior studying biology, discussed what the University Program Council was hosting. UPC is a volunteer board of students that plans free events on campus for students.
Richards mentioned UPC hosting a Casino Royale night Saturday in Baker Theatre from 2-5 p.m.
Richards also shared comparisons between Dads Weekend and Moms Weekend.
“It’s definitely smaller-scale, but it’s a lot more involved, and it's come and go,” she said. “You don’t sit there for an hour and a half … You can come when you want and leave when you want.”
Todd Flowers, a logistics manager, was visiting his daughter, Ally Flowers, a freshman studying mathematical statistics. Todd Flowers said he and his daughter saw Joe Gatto Friday night and they had no set plans for the weekend.
“We had a good time with the show, but right now we’re just kind of going with the flow from event to event to see what we want to do,” Todd Flowers said.
Knotts said this weekend allows dads to see that their kids are growing, learning and thriving as a Bobcat.
Todd Flowers mentioned it was exciting to see how his daughter was doing at OU.
“(I’m) starting to see she's becoming her own person, (which) is probably the biggest thing,” Todd Flowers said. “Just seeing that she’s growing, she’s developing, she’s becoming her own person.”
