PITTSBURG, Kan. — Grandparents and their grandchildren are invited to the Pittsburg State University campus next week for a one-day engaging experience known as “Grandparents University.” 

The inaugural event is scheduled to take place in just under two weeks on Thursday, June 4. The registration deadline is Tuesday, May 26, so there is still time for grandparents and grandchildren to apply. 

Grandparents University is new to the PSU campus; however, the event has been around since 2001 through the vision of the Wisconsin Alumni Association at the University of Wisconsin-Malone. In an effort to foster intergenerational learning, the event quickly expanded to Division I colleges such as Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, and Kansas State. 

“Other universities do it, so we had seen it, and we just decided to adopt it this year, and we are excited about it,” said Madelyn Hessong, PSU Alumni and Constituent Relations Director of Outreach and Engagement.

Through the event, grandparents who are alumni and their grandchildren ages 8 to 11 begin the day with breakfast before rotating through a series of hands-on sessions selected by attendees through registration. Sessions included focus on the fields of construction, nursing, theater, technology education, and business.

Along with the sessions, attendees are also scheduled to participate in a movement-based activity with student athletes on campus, closing the day with lunch and a special mock graduation ceremony.

“So children and their alumni grandparents get to come to campus for the day and they kind of get to pick a class schedule,” said Hessong. “So they’ll get to explore three academic departments and there will be breakout sessions throughout the day, so they’ll be bouncing around campus to different buildings and participating. There will be an athletic session with some of the athletes that are still on campus. Paper bag lunches, sno cones, and a little mock graduation ceremony at the end of the day.”

For more information, call Pittsburg State University Alumni & Constituent Relations at 620-235-4758 or email alumni@pittstate.edu. Those looking to visit the registration page directly can visit pittstate.regfox.com/grandparents-university.

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.