Objects From Home
Students arrive on campus with a variety of objects from home. What do they bring and why?
Objects hold a certain power. They can store a library of memories, create opportunities for sharing, and perhaps most importantly, bring us comfort when we are far from home. During New Student Orientation this August, we visited the residence halls and asked students what they had brought from home and why. Here’s what they told us.
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Gabriel Binder CAS ’17, Oakland, California
“This 1956 Rolleiflex film camera was my grandfather’s—and his father’s before that. It’s a relic, but it is also a functional piece of equipment. I wasn’t going to leave for college without it.”Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Erin Carlson CAS ’17, Park City, Utah
“This three-quarter-size violin has been passed down in my family for quite a while. I got it from my mom’s side of the family. We think it is more than a hundred years old!”Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Adam Betters CAS ’17, Santa Barbara, California
“My hero is Bruce Springsteen, musically and otherwise!” After working hard all summer, Adam decided to buy himself an acoustic guitar that would last him a lifetime: an exact model of a Takamine guitar that Springsteen owns. “It inspires me to not only work hard at music but also on school because Springsteen’s songs are all about working hard and achieving your dreams.”Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Tessa Belanger CAS ’17, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tessa found these objects along the shore of Lake Michigan and thought they were really beautiful. “Michigan is one of my favorite places on earth, so I thought it would be nice to bring something from there to Oregon.”Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Ian Rex CAS ’17, Newtown, Pennsylvania
“I wanted to bring a little piece of home to Lewis & Clark with me. Everyone always says to bring a picture, but I wanted something more than that.” This old baseball jersey is from George School, a Quaker boarding high school in Pennsylvania. Ian’s mother has been the dean of students there since before he was born. He’s lived and studied there most of his life.Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Alicia Kirkland CAS ’16, Houston
“I got this tattoo on my left ribs because I wanted it to be close to my heart. It will always be with me to remind me of home.”Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Monica Cropsey CAS ’17, Santa Rosa, California
“My mom painted me this picture. She is like my best friend, so of course I would bring it with me to college!”Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Forrest Breyfogle CAS ’17, Roslyn, Washington
“This is a really special guitar—it’s been my soul instrument that I’ve really put my energy and life into.” This guitar was one out of 300 made to benefit the musicians who lost their instruments in Hurricane Katrina. It was made out of driftwood from the hurricane and painted by New Orleans artists.Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Mika Shea CAS ’17, Santa Ynez, California
“My friends and I live so far apart that, honestly, if you don’t have a method of transportation, it’s going to take you three hours to walk to anyone’s house.” Mika was given this skateboard for Christmas when he was 14 years old and has used it ever since.Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Elizabeth Armitage CAS ’17, Madras, Oregon
“I got this Christmas cactus as a gift from my grandpa at my birth. It’s important to me because my grandpa is no longer living. It’s been a reminder of many things….”Copyright, Steve Hambuchen -
Lauren White CAS ’17, Pasadena, California
“I read Invisible Man in high school, and it had a really big impact on me. I have so many annotations in it, and it’s worn in—I really like it when that happens to books.”Copyright, Steve Hambuchen
Objects From Home
