This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bates chapter.
Over Christmas break, his face slid through the mailbox of the homes of all sophomores and juniors, his picture advertising the Career Development Center’s Purposeful Work Internship program. While his 2014 internship in Seattle acts as an example of what a successful, professional summer should look like, Daniel Oyolu ’15 also is one of the most admired and well-known people at Bates.
This week’s Campus Celebrity calls Houston his home but it is clear that Texas is not the only place he thrives. Bates College is Daniel’s current kingdom, evidenced by his daily walks around Commons— walks consisting of chatting with endless amounts of tables of friends and acquaintances. His interests—besides eating—involve meeting new people and exploring exciting places. Besides dedicating his time to socializing with fellow students, Daniel is involved in an impressive (and, honestly, unimaginable) amount of campus organizations. He acts as Resident Coordinator of Adams Hall, humbly living with hundreds of loud sophomores. He is a Career Development Senior Fellow, using his prior professional experience to help peers perfect their resumes and cover letters. He is a social media intern with Admissions, Vice Co-Chair of the Senior Gift Committee, a singer with the Bates Gospelaires, a member of the Africana, Amandla and Latino Unidos clubs, a member of the Trustee’s Committee, and more.
Daniel also is focused on his studies, currently writing his thesis as a Spanish major. When asked why he chose to study Spanish, he claims that, “it just sort of happened.”
Coming to Bates with a solid base in the language, he began to take Spanish classes that he enjoyed. Furthermore, his passion was fueled with a short term trip to Cuba and a semester abroad program to Spain.
Exhausted just reading that? I was too, so I couldn’t help but ask the pressing question of, “DO YOU EVEN SLEEP???” (Apparently he does, getting a solid six hours of shut-eye a night.)
How did Bates get lucky enough to snatch Daniel’s freshman year deposit? He responds, “My high school English teacher was really into the whole liberal arts idea. I always magined liberal arts to mean hippy schools, but after researching schools like Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby, I picked a few to apply.” After attending a Bates event in Houston, Daniel was hooked on the friendly atmosphere of the college and was excited to venture outside of his home state to the northeast.
“Mr. Bates” (as my girlfriends and I affectionately call him) plans on getting a job next year that will challenge him while also holding his interests. Final advice from Daniel? “Everyone should get out of their comfort zone and meet someone different from them.” Very Daniel-esque advice, indeed!
Book recommendation: Conversations with Myself by Nelson Mandela
Music to listen to while studying: Robert Glasper (American jazz musician) and Brazilian bossa nova music