“OU Unplugged” Connects Students and Alumni

Meet the O Team—some of Oglethorpe’s most engaging students who share their stories about the Oglethorpe student experience at various alumni and campus events.

The O Team (l-r): Kai Street ’14, Tirzah Brown ’14, Stephanie Croston ’13 and Weston Manders ’12.

During Oglethorpe’s Fall Break on October 8-9, I had the incredible opportunity to accompany President Schall and Alumni Office staff to New York City as a member of the O Team to present “OU Unplugged,” a panel presentation about student life at Oglethorpe for New York area alumni.

Members of the O Team who traveled with me included Stephanie Crosten ’13, Kai Street ’14 and Weston Manders ’12. I had never been to New York City before so the whole experience was special from beginning to end. But, the star attraction of our trip was definitely the conversations we had with alumni gathered at the Charles Bank Gallery on the Lower East Side.

Before this trip, I was quite familiar with the passionate, interesting and all-together wonderful students at OU. However, I learned from my conversations at the event that alumni who graduated before I was even born share those same traits. Every person that I spoke with at the event is living a life of purpose.  

I had the opportunity to connect with a fellow Alpha Phi Omega brother, discuss economics with a software engineer originally from Cameroon, and meet a sweet elderly couple that spends part of each year in my hometown of Ft. Myers, Fla. I treasured every conversation with each graduate and I enjoyed observing people who had never met each other connecting over their shared Oglethorpe experiences and memories.

Following the alumni event, my fellow travelers and I toured all over the city seeing as many sites as we could fit in to our 40-hour visit to the Big Apple. From Ellis Island to Times Square and Central Park, I loved the sights and sounds of New York City and can’t wait to return for another visit. I also look forward to attending alumni events when I graduate and meeting OU students of the future.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email