Two Ohio University freshmen who grew up together in Mill Street Village as toddlers have reunited in dorm life after living in different parts of the globe.
For Andrew Black, a freshman studying sport management, the United States is one of seven countries and territories he’s called home. Born in Munich, Germany, Black has lived in Chile, Switzerland, Costa Rica, England and Australia.
Andres Obregon, a freshman studying psychology, also spent his childhood relocating. Born in Colombia, Obregon has also lived in Pennsylvania, Virginia and ultimately Athens, where he attended middle and high school.
Both of their fathers were doing graduate work at OU in 1992 as well as living in Mill Street Village, where the boys initially met.
Obregon’s father, Rafael, was a professor in the School of Media Arts and Studies and now works for UNICEF. He said he is very happy to see his son attending his alma mater.
“It’s (a) very nice campus and a friendly environment,” Rafael said. “It’s also a very good psychology department.”
Several factors brought the friends together.
“(Our fathers) were both Hispanic and really liked soccer,” Black said.
The sons inherited the passion for the sport that became very important to Black and Obregon’s relationship.
“Soccer is like a universal language,” Obregon said.
They recalled using soccer as the main conversation piece during an awkward lunch at W.G. Grinders on Union Street after being separated for more than a decade.
“It was like a blind date, but with our parents,” Black said, joking about the reunion.
It was an easy decision for the two to reunite. Black, 20, completed a year of college in Chile, but his credits haven’t transferred to OU. That put Obregon, 18, and Black in the same academic standing. As a result, the two decided to room together.
After years of separation, the pair had a lot of catching up to do. Soccer filled that gap.
The sport consumes their conversations and has worked its way into the duo’s extracurricular activities. Black plays on the OU club team, and the two also play in an intramural league.
Beyond their affinity for soccer, the students also enjoy college life and everything it entails.
“In South America, college is just a place you go,” Black said.
He mentioned that it hindered the building of strong relationships with new people.
“I really like living on campus,” Obregon said. “There’s a very high level of independence you don’t get at South American universities.”
Enrique Hermosilla, the residential coordinator of Shively-Perkins complex, where the friends now reside, knew them and their fathers in the early ’90s. Hermosilla was the student manager of Mill Street Village when the two were living in the apartments and is still in contact with the students’ fathers.
“This proves that friendship can rekindle,” Hermosilla said. “I also feel it enhances the university’s job of opening its arms to many different cultures and languages.”
ap338210@ohio.edu
