Remarkable Reedies.

Alisa loves playing hockey. They grew up in a suburb of Detroit with a family that expected them to attend their large state school. “I knew I wanted to go out of state, but that was something my parents were very hesitant about.” Alisa wanted an “intentional learning community where people genuinely care about learning.” Reed seemed like a good fit, and Alisa flew out from Michigan as a part of the multicultural fly-in program. Alisa sat in on classes, visited Hawthorne, walked in the Portland rain, and knew they wanted to be a part of the Reed community. 

Once Alisa was accepted, “financial aid 100% made the difference” in their ability to come to Reed.

At Reed, Alisa has found empowering spaces for people who hold marginalized identities and has learned to live their life from a place of safety and confidence. Interning with Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO)—with the support of a Summer Internship Award from the Center for Life Beyond Reed—introduced Alisa to other API and nonbinary role models. Additionally, Alisa has been delighted to find a community of Reedies who really like sports. “Originally I wanted to go to college to play hockey . . . and I felt like coming to Reed I had to be prepared to give up on that part of my identity.” Alisa now plays on the Reed rugby team, has taken up cycling, and loves exploring the bountiful hiking opportunities available in the Pacific Northwest.

Just days after the Remarkable Reedies campaign launched we received news that Alisa has been named a Thomas J. Watson Fellow—remarkable indeed!

Miniya is originally from Birmingham, Alabama, so Reed is “a long way from home” by her own account. She’s a transfer student, having come to Reed after her first year at Hampshire College. Miniya, a self-professed “debate kid” in high school, is majoring in political science and focusing her research on environmental advocacy. She’s equally passionate about art and design and about supporting the Reed community. This year she worked as the transfer student coordinator for Orientation, helping transfer students understand Reed culture, attend campus events, and find their place in the Reed community. 

Financial aid was crucial to Miniya’s ability to transfer to Reed, and she received a scholarship specifically to support Black students. The importance of financial aid is clear to Miniya: “As we know, there is a desperate need for Black American students within the world of academia. Too often, our stories are talked about and studied without us giving our important perspectives on these issues. It is scholarships like this that enable Black students to truly succeed and contribute our value to the intellectual world.”

Whether she is petitioning for the electrification of Portland buses or flexing her entrepreneurial skills while growing her art business, Miniya is a remarkable Reedie, and she is here because of financial support from donors like you. 

Robin grew up in a small town in southwest Washington, about an hour from Reed. Throughout high school, they would leaf through Reed’s brochures, poring over student descriptions and thinking about how this “band of fierce intellectuals” felt like the community they’d been seeking. Robin yearned for an educational experience where everyone was engaged and wanted to learn. 

At Reed, Robin thought, “going to a conference where every single person had done the readings and wanted to share their thoughts and learn was never something I had in high school.”

Robin is now in their second year at Reed, majoring in sociology and serving in a leadership role on the Restorative Justice Coalition. For Robin, restorative justice is all about close-knit community: “We wanted to have another option, one that didn’t fall into these traditional models entrenched in Western society . . . we wanted students to feel like they have a place to talk about conflict and be heard. It’s really important to be able to fix, and remedy, and rebuild community after harm, but it’s also allowed us to circumvent harm before it happens. We hold community building circles so various groups of students can form deeper connections to one another and learn to understand each other more.”