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For Danielle Leahey ’23, a biology major, Family Day was a fun and memorable way to introduce her family to the University community, to show her Charger Pride, and to make lasting memories.

September 26, 2019

By Danielle Leahey ’23

Family Day is a memorable event that every undergraduate student should participate in. I loved having the opportunity to show my parents around campus and to attend special events with them.

The first event that I wanted to participate in with my family was "Stuff-A-Bear," but I’m almost positive that was everyone’s idea. There were plush giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, elephants, and lions available to stuff. My family and I picked a zebra, made him with love, dressed him in a University of New Haven shirt, and gave him a name. We ended up picking "Stripes" – not a very original name, but it’s a name we all agreed on.

"Playing Connect 4 and Cornhole really brought my family together, and we had some good laughs." Danielle Leahey ’23

After stuffing our zebra, we went to go paint some inspirational rocks. We all came up with some interesting designs. The designs and quotes we came up with are going to be a great inspiration for people after the rocks are distributed across campus.

After painting our rocks, I was excited to head over to the animal exhibit. This was a great event for people of all ages because there were so many different types of animals. The animal exhibit had snakes, frogs, kunekune (a type of pig), a crocodile, and much more. We even got the chance to pet some of them!

The lawn games were fun as well. Playing Connect 4 and Cornhole really brought my family together, and we had some good laughs. Family Day is also a great day to get some University of New Haven swag, because my family got the chance to buy college apparel together.

Family Day had many fun events to participate in, and I wish I could have done them all. My favorite parts of the day were the animal exhibit and Stuff-A-Bear, since picking an animal and giving it a name was something special. Overall, it was a great day to be with my family and my University of New Haven family.