From residence hall friends to Forever Buckeyes
A return to Barrett House brings college memories into focus and reflects a broader commitment to alumni at every stage.
Ohio State in the fall is a special time, when first-year students still getting lost on the way to class mingle with returning alumni on their annual pilgrimage to Ohio Stadium. The entire campus is a living reminder of what it means to be a Forever Buckeye, where honored traditions bang up against fresh fashions and new technology to remind us that Ohio State is always changing, always advancing, even while holding onto precious memories.
This summer, I got to experience this firsthand when I joined three friends from my freshman residence hall on a spontaneous visit to Barrett House. Simone Walker Smallwood and Beth Neal Daniels ’85, ’92 MA lived with me in room 341, while Karin Madsen Leonetti ’85 was our across-the-hall neighbor. Our first reaction upon arriving at our old stomping grounds: “How on earth did we fit our stuff in these rooms?”
The visit unleashed a flood of emotions and a trove of hilarious stories. We talked about one or more of us doing something embarrassing or ill-advised while navigating life for the first time without parental supervision.
Our reunion was a tangible representation of what I feel every day in my job. The Buckeye alumni experience is equal parts nostalgia and real life, driven by both our student memories and the lives we’ve built from those experiences and lifetime friendships.
This is exactly what we had in mind when my team and I identified the tagline for our new Strategic Vision: We champion every Buckeye.
We achieve this through two strategies:
- Engage Buckeyes at every life stage—by connecting alumni with students, the community and one another to produce opportunities for collaboration and fellowship wherever they live.
- Rally Buckeyes around causes that change lives—by aligning Buckeyes’ passions and skills to make a collective difference through community connections, mentorship and opportunities for continued learning and leadership.
You can learn more about the OSUAA Strategic Vision at go.osu.edu/aboutOSUAA.
I know you’ll enjoy the Fall issue of Ohio State Alumni Magazine. Once again, the writers and editors have assembled an inspiring collection of stories about what it means to be a Buckeye—from that first nervous night in our freshman residence hall, to the lifetime connection we forge through passion, philanthropy and purpose.
