My time at Olin has been overshadowed by conflict with my parents. At first, it was manageable. I could ignore them. I could fake and tolerate them during the infrequent calls. But with each month, things got worse. A new demand. A new threat. A new ultimatum. As they pushed harder, I grew increasingly distant from them. Eventually, the only thing keeping me in their orbit was money—money to pay for Olin. I finally broke this summer when they pulled that string and used the money as a weapon against me. I felt the floor rip from beneath me. I lost hope in reconciliation when I sent a letter explaining my needs, and their only response was, “You have a severe anxiety condition.” This semester, they became more erratic and more delusional. When my mental health struggles took on physical manifestations, I knew I could not sustain this relationship any longer. Having fully lost hope, I finally estranged myself from my parents. No more communication. No more returning home. No more money.
With no other way to pay for the full cost of attendance, I turned to Olin financial aid. With a letter from my therapist and a 5,000-word document detailing my parents’ emotional abuse and my resultant mental health struggles, I was hopeful things would turn out all right. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Three weeks ago, I was denied my FAFSA Dependency Override request by Olin’s Financial Aid Administrator. In a conversation with said administrator, they recommended that I learn to cope or try communicating with my parents, despite my written and verbal explanations as to why this was not feasible for my mental health. (Please read into FAFSA Unusual Circumstances and FAFSA Professional Judgement—you’ll find there is no way to appeal.) To put the nail in the coffin, I was told earlier that becoming self-supporting was insufficient to justify a new Dependency Override decision for later semesters. Thus, because I cannot bear to take on $150,000 of debt, I find myself unable to afford the remainder of my Olin education. I have been in a scramble to get a job, a car, and housing, and Engineering for Everyone feels so far away.
As I have been preparing for my departure from Olin, I have come to appreciate all the great things about this community that I will soon miss. I’ll miss playing Blood on the Clocktower and Coup on weekends. I’ll miss being Olin’s leading Egyptian War (Egyptian Rat Slap, ERS) player. I’ll miss all the good times playing table tennis. I’ll miss the pool room. Soccer. The wild conversations and napkin drawings in the dining hall. Causing a spectacle with a fork and knife. Being that crazy Californian still in shorts and flip-flops. Spectating Spoon Assassins. Volunteering at Candidates’ Weekend. 30-Second Videos. All the emails. The acronyms. The drama. Joking about Olin infrastructure while living in it. Collectively suffering with Olin courses. Being in the shop. Fixing up the Baja car in the LPB. Welding. Walking through the O at night. The busy weekends and late nights working on projects. I’ll miss having a shoulder to lean on. I’ll miss this community. Being surrounded by so many genuinely good people has truly changed me for the better. To those I have worked with, hung out with, suffered with, had crazy conversations with, I’m so grateful to have known you. I’ll never forget my time here at Olin and this community which has served me so well. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being with me.
All the best,
Austin “live free or die” Strahm