Who would have guessed as I walked through the halls of Ohio State’s Animal Science Building that I would feel a strange twinge of nostalgia? As a journalism student, I rarely have anything to do with the animal science field, apart from the occasional assignment dealing with the topic. So you’re probably wondering, “why is this girl getting choked up walking through an animal science building?”
My reasons have nothing to do with pigs, cows or horses. I do not get choked up when thinking of how cows are made into hamburgers or steaks. I am not an animal rights activist who cries at the thought of eating pigs for dinner.
No, my reasons run deep. They are ever-present in the blood that runs through my veins every day. Lined on the walls of the Animal Science Building are pictures that represent my lineage, my past. In the old, faded pictures that hang on the first and second floors, I can pick out the familiar faces of my father, Donald Fogle, and grandfather, Robert Bernard.
I am sure many students have family members who have attended OSU. However, it is somewhat surreal to be able to go into a building on campus and see my own OSU family tradition documented, even if I am the only one aware of it. I am honored to know that my family members will forever be present and recognized at this university, and I can only hope that one day it will be the same for me.
Growing up in a family that “bleeds scarlet and gray” instilled a sense of Buckeye pride in me at a very young age. I grew up listening to stories of how my parents met when they lived in the same dorm, Norton House. I learned of how my dad ice skated on the Olentangy River during the winter, though he advised me never to do the same. My mom and dad even told stories of pranks they pulled on their roommates while at school here.
Even though I was not present during those events, I associate them to the campus and feel their presence every time I walk to class, the library or the gym. When I merely pass Mirror Lake, nostalgia floods over me. Every time I walk past the shimmering water and spraying fountain, I picture my dad proposing to my mom. I can almost see their figures sitting on a bench or my dad on one knee kneeling before my mom.
From even before the time I went to college, I felt a strong tie to campus. While I wavered slightly on which school to choose, I always knew deep down that I would call OSU home. I believe that scarlet and gray courses through the veins of those students who went to OSU. I know that gene was passed on to me from my parents since the time I was born and stayed with me until college.
My parents and grandfather are not the only OSU alumni in my family. My brother attended OSU, along with many of my extended family members, including an aunt, five uncles and eight cousins.
Though OSU is such a large campus and I am surrounded by thousands of people every day, I feel very lucky to have a sense of family connection here. I am comforted in knowing that one of my cousins is on campus each day in his office in Bolz Hall. And if I ever get homesick, I can walk through the Animal Science Building and see the faces of my dad and grandfather gazing back at me.
