To our team, thank you for allowing us to end our collegiate careers by creating history. Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for buying into the vision of what we wanted our season to be and what we’ve always wanted it to be. Thank you for creating a family and sticking together through all of the cracks.

It took three years, but we did it. There’s no team like us. No one else is going to break out in dance battles during a timeout or do a catwalk before the game to Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love.” You all have provided a home in the chaos of what the last four years have been for us. We’re grateful it was this team we got to accomplish this season with. Every single person was integral to creating our family.

To our newest members, our first-years, you all make us so incredibly excited for the future of this program. When we look at you, you remind us how far we’ve come. We started just like you and can’t wait to see the people you become and watch you lead this program to an even better future than we can imagine. You committed to building relationships on this team and taught us how to be better teammates, leading through empathy.

To our second-years, you truly brought the joy of playing to this program. You raised the bar in discipline, and your love for the sport of volleyball is contagious. Each of your diverse perspectives and personalities taught us how to be better leaders through listening and making sure each voice was heard. When you joined this program, you reignited each of our loves for this sport. We can’t wait to watch each of your flames grow.

To our third-years, you are the core of our little family. We shared our first season with you, and you’ve grounded this team for the last three years. You started us on our leadership journey and have instilled confidence in us with your trust as we’ve grown up together. While you may not feel ready, we have full confidence in your ability to lead the team. You don’t even know how much the underclassmen look up to you and how much of a leader you already are. As we pass the baton onto you, we have a couple things we’ve learned. First, the person always comes before the player, and your worth is never determined by your performance on the court. Lead with empathy, and compassion will follow. Second, em- brace your own leadership style. The way each of you lead doesn’t have to be the same, and it won’t be the same. Everyone on the team brings something special, and it’s our differences that build our community. Lastly, change is a good thing. Over our four years, we’ve learned that, even though change is scary, good can always come from it. Two years ago, Stanny joined the program and transformed how each of us see the game of volleyball for the best. Without change, we could not have built the program we have today.

As our lives are about to change, we know we will always have a home here and can call OCVB our family, and we can’t thank you all enough for that.

Peace, love, volleyball.

Due to over-enrollment, the small liberal arts school I thought I was attending has gotten a lot bigger. As a result, the Office of Residential Education staff had to deal with the chaos of assigning housing to more Oberlin students than normal. Phones were ringing off the hook, and concerned parents and students were left on hold and told to fill out a Google Form to get on waitlists for dorms.

The majority of my teammates and classmates were shocked and outraged to learn that none of our housing requests were honored. One of my teammates even had accommodations from her doctor and still had to be placed on a “priority waitlist” to be considered for a single in any dorm on campus. You would think that athletes would be easier to accommodate because we were either the first ones to arrive on campus or, for those taking classes during the summer semester, stayed on campus during the September break. However, it was harder for ResEd to give us our desired housing selections due to over-enrollment with first-year students. Asking ResEd to get on a waitlist seemed pointless because other students just like me were having the same problem.

Unfortunately, applying for housing with two other roommates did not work in my favor. I had no choice but to deal with the housing assignment originally given to me. Once I stepped into my assigned open triple, which had been a lounge area for students last year, I discovered that the furniture setup could not accommodate the space the three of us needed. The room lacked the necessary coverings for outlets and had exposed wiring located near the beds. Moving into a space that was not ready to be settled in, especially with two other roommates, became unbelievably stressful. My roommates and I were constantly stepping over things, invading each others’ space, and closing the blinds because our window faced the South patio. The dorm seemed unbearable to live in, especially with the constant construction occurring right outside our windows. With all of those problems arising, along with the stress of starting classes, I knew that my roommates and I were in need of immediate assistance.

When the first week of classes began, I discussed the problems with my parents, and they quickly got to work making many calls. In just a matter of days, my father found someone to help. Andrea Stone, an interior designer from Wooster, Ohio, owns a business called UnComplicated Designs LLC. I gave her the dimensions of the room and the furniture to draw up a floor plan that would help with space efficiency. She sent me a 3D and 2D version of the floor plan in just 24 hours. My roommates and I picked a day that we were free to rearrange the room and quickly got to work. It took me from Sept. 20 — the day I received permission to move into my permanent housing — to Oct. 11 to settle into my room completely. This was only possible with the help of my parents and UnComplicated Designs.

I understand that Oberlin College is not the only academic institution struggling to go back to normal. All schools are encountering difficulties working through this seemingly never-ending pandemic. Even though the move into my permanent housing wasn’t ideal at first, what is most important is that we work through these issues together. I thank ResEd for listening to my issues when I needed assistance, and I will always thank Andrea Stone for putting me first in creating a living space that is equally space efficient for all three of my roommates.