Name: Opeyemi Awe
Class Year: 2015
Major: International Affairs
Hometown: Ilesa, Nigeria / Germantown, MD
Why and how did you get involved with student government at Grinnell?
I was actively involved in student government in high school so participating in student government here at Grinnell was the next step for me. The autonomy of student government, coupled with self-gov and the fact that students were left to determine how $400,000 is spent all factored into my decision to apply to Grinnell. I decided to get involved because I think that Grinnell offers students the opportunity to do a lot of good and effect significant change in their time here. Having the opportunity to make a substantive contribution to my community definitely appealed to me. I’ve served as a senator, sat on way more committees than necessary, currently serve as Vice President for Student Affairs and look forward to my role as President.
If you could change anything about Grinnell, what would it be?
I wish students took a more active role in upholding self-governance. Oftentimes, I hear people talk about the administration trying to get rid of self-gov. I have to chuckle when I hear this because all honesty, if self-gov ‘dies’, we killed it. It is our responsibility to craft the community we want in our daily choices and interactions with one another. The efficacy of self-gov lies in how seriously we take that responsibility.
What is one piece of advice you would give a group of first-years?
Give Grinnell a chance. It is so easy to get sucked into conversations around all that is wrong with Grinnell that it can be easy to forget this is genuinely a wonderful place to be and there are amazing people here. We are all imperfect but there’s a lot to be learned from those imperfections and we just need to take the time to absorb them all. Even as a third year, I constantly remind myself that this entire experience is so important and that I have become a better person due to my Grinnell experience.
What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
Despite how loud and energetic I can be, I’m honestly a recluse.
What was the most difficult part of running for office?
It’s incredibly nerve racking! I’m human and I do not like losing so putting myself out there for the world to judge can be an emotionally intense process. Thankfully, I’ve had a great deal of success at Grinnell (which has not always been the case) but the nerves never go away.
If you had to sum up your Grinnell experience in three words, what would they be?
Intense. Transformative. Cold.
What do you hope to accomplish within the next year? Five years?
Personally, I would like to publish some of my academic writing and travel to Australia within the next year. Professionally, I would like to find some ways to keep Grinnell fun for all people. I think that Grinnell can be an immensely intense place that takes itself too seriously. So, I will try (to the best of my ability) to infuse some chill and fun into all the work and intensity. Next five years –- I will have an MBA and / or law degree and be back in Nigeria working as a consultant.
In your experience, what are the most effective ways to go about making lasting social change within a community (school, city, etc.)?
Be sincere and be reasonable. Trying to do good in the world requires too much work and provides too little recognition for anyone to do it to please anyone else. I think sincerity makes the work worth it. Being dedicated to a cause or place only matters if you truly care and are willing to give more to it than you will receive. I also think its important to be reasonable. I alone will not be able to change all of Grinnell. I can however, do my part to improve SGA, bring more people into the fold and increase accountability. It doesn’t change all of SGA but it certainly makes a difference. Having reasonable expectations of what I can do helps make the work worth it.
Any parting words?
People and relationships matter – don’t let folks tell you otherwise. And also, being nice (without being a suck-up or insincere) will take you a very long way in life.