How a student from Sydney, Australia found himself in Madison, Wisconsin
Photo by Ollie Akayan
By Grace Friedman
For Oliver Akayan (Ollie) the story begins with a love of American football and a trip to a thrift store in Sydney, Australia.
Ollie, a current junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, dreamt of going to college in the United States of America since he was a young man.
“It all started with my love of sports,” said Akayan. “I started watching college football, and I just found it amazing that you could be at a school and there would be these high level athletes playing in stadiums of thousands of people.”
Raised in a completely different social climate in Sydney, Australia, Ollie was also fascinated by the stereotypical college experience: Greek life, dorm rooms, community; all of which served as motivators for Ollie applying to various U.S. universities.
“Ollie was very keen to go to the United States,” said Alison Akayan, Ollie’s mom.
Ollie had been to the U.S. a number of times, mainly Hawaii due to the geographical closeness to Australia, but he had also taken a few trips to DC to visit his relatives, and to LA to visit Disneyland, three very common tourist locations for international travelers.
“I had never even been close to the Midwest,” said Akayan. “I remember looking at photos of Wisconsin and thinking that there is no way I am going to the University of Wisconsin, that was genuinely something I thought.”
After a college counselor in Australia heard that he wanted to go to a college with a big sports team, she encouraged Ollie to apply to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He soon began feeling more comfortable with the idea of expanding his vision of what an American university would look like.
Some time later, while at a thrift store in Sydney, Ollie stumbled upon a very specific article of clothing, a Wisconsin sweatshirt, which quickly became the favorite piece of clothing in his closet, and later served as yet another sign for Ollie to pursue this dream.
Shortly after buying this iconic piece of clothing, Ollie was given the opportunity to attend the Rose Bowl and see Wisconsin play Oregon. In the stadium, Ollie sat with a group of Oregon fans who encouraged him to apply to the Univeristy of Wisconsin. “It was really bizarre,” said Akayan. “Despite both of their kids going to the University of Oregon, both of them said I had probably get a better degree and title at Wisconsin.”
When continued encouragement from other sources persisted, Ollie settled on the University of Wisconsin and has not looked back.
“I was really impressed with the response that he received when he applied there,” said Alison. “So when the offer came through, we decided to accept it, even though we hadn’t been for a visit.”
Nearly halfway through his third year in Wisconsin, Ollie continues to talk about this experience with contentment. “I absolutely love every aspect of it, minus the cold,” Akayan laughs, “I have created this amazing network of people that genuinely care about me. It is just phenomenal.”
With a 17-hour time difference to reach his friends and family at home, it has been imperative that Ollie build a network in Madison that feels like home. Ollie joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and Alpha Kappa Psi Business organization shortly after arriving in Madison which introduced him to individuals who have quickly become his American family.
Ollie even had the opportunity to travel to Minnesota last year and South Carolina this year, to celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday unfamiliar to him, with friends he has made through the University.
“I’ve never been in a position where someone might just open up their house to me for a week,” Akayan said, “to celebrate something when they know I don’t have access to my own home.”
After visiting Ollie in October for the first time, Akayan’s mom was relieved to see her son attending college in such a beautiful place, surrounded by so many people that love him so much.
“We love his friends and the support that he has on campus,” said Alison, “it feels like sending him to Wisconsin was the best thing we could have done.”
While Wisonsin may not be as iconic a location as Bondi Beach or the Sydney Opera house, it has offered Ollie emotional connections that he will treasure for a lifetime.
“The beauty of the Midwest is captured in its people,” said Akayan. “Everyone I meet here is a lot more welcoming than back home. It’s quite different.”
While the thrift store Wisconsin sweatshirt ultimately became an important material possession to Ollie, he was sad to admit he later lost it.
“I was initally really sad to have lost it,” said Akayan, “but then I realized it had served its purpose, it was a full circle, it brought me to Wisconsin and then I lost it in Wisconsin.”
While Wisconsin has offered Akayan many important experiences and connections, Ollie has offered a unique perspective to the UW-Madison campus as well, as noted by his closest friends.
“A lot of people are the same at Wisconsin,” said Drew Friedman, one of Ollie’s closest friends, “because he is is from Australia, Ollie brings a uniqueness that is extremely beneficial to the people around him.”
At the University of Wisconsin, only 14% of the student undergraduate population is international. Therefore students like Ollie have a disproportionately large impact on the culture of the University.
“Ollie brings a nice change from the people that you’re used to meeting,” said Friedman, a student at the University who had never had an Australian friend before, “and isn’t that the importance of going to college.”
According to Ollie, making the courageous decision to study at the University of Wisconsin was one of the best decisions he could have made, and his peers on campus could not be more grateful that he did.
“I am honored to have met Ollie,” said Friedman, “my college experience would not have been the same without him, and Madison is better off with him here.”
