Written by Ashley Luke
My first day of college was daunting. As I watched my parents drive away, I was quickly ushered over to Olds’ orientation ceremony. Next to so many new faces, I watched as the resident assistants performed skits to remind us to wash our dishes, be courteous when doing laundry, and keep the bathrooms clean.
Moma A, Olds’ cheery house director who functions like a live-in grandma, stood up and gave a speech. She pointed to a group of women sitting on the low stone wall next to us, saying, “These ladies are the past women of Olds. They love you! We love you! We all want you to succeed and we believe that you can. So, keep your chin up, have fun, and never hesitate to ask any of these ladies, the resident assistants, or me for help.”
This was some of the best advice I received while living in Olds. The ladies in this dorm—upperclassmen, RAs, Moma A, and freshmen alike—are always ready to help in times of need or simply chat with a warm cup of tea. From the very first day of orientation, Olds’ girls are encouraged to leave their doors open so that others can “pop in.”
Just as you would feel perfectly comfortable going to sit on a sibling’s bed to chat, the open doors are an invitation to a friendly conversation and cozy community. “The open doors encourage slow, intentional conversation, as if to say, ‘I will make time for you to come in and distract me because I care about you! I want to hear about your day even though I am a busy college student,’” says Grace Novak, ’28, a current Olds resident.
Most of the time, when I am finished studying or am simply ready for a break, I walk down my hall or into the kitchen to see who is around to chat. If I end up in the kitchen, I am almost always greeted by an inviting face and a snack.
Olds’ kitchen is legendary for constantly being filled with women baking and cooking. I once heard of a resident who was trying to perfect her chocolate chip cookie recipe and would bake a batch every weekend. They were never up to her standard, so Olds was blessed with fresh cookies each week. Whether it’s a friend offering a bite to eat when you desperately need a snack or deep conversation while making pie, the ladies of Olds make the dorm feel like home.
Some ladies even have open-invitation Sunday night dinners at Olds after Evensong concludes in Christ Chapel. “You simply need a home-cooked meal post-Evensong,” says Cat Hayes, ’28. She can be seen most Sunday nights making homemade spaghetti sauce and pasta in Olds’ kitchen.
Because the ladies of Olds are known for their baking talents, the RAs came up with the idea of hosting a bake sale for the benefit of downtown Hillsdale’s Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center. Each fall, the Olds residents rally together to “bake for the babies,” selling treats and playing live music in the lobby. Last year, Olds raised over $1,000 for the center.
Olds has many fun traditions throughout the year, including:
- Olds Roses: a top-secret event where the men of Niedfeldt arrive unexpectedly— dressed to the nines—and present roses to the Olds girls.
- Olds Unity Day: all past and present Olds girls wear their dorm swag up the hill.
- Olds Glow: a snazzy second semester party where all of campus comes to hear live music and dance under Olds’ acclaimed disco ball that hangs in the lobby.
The Olds girls also have a fight song that is lovingly ingrained into them from day one. It goes: “O-L-D-S, Olds Girls are the best!” This seemingly silly chant is something that unites all women of Olds, current and past. Whether we are bonding over the lack of air conditioning or the community bathrooms or the cozy kitchen, upperclassmen and underclassmen who lived or live in Olds always find kindred spirits in each other.
Although my move-in day felt daunting, I was instantly welcomed by endless smiling faces. As I unpacked the boxes I had squished my life into, I found two sweet notes left on my closet wall. One told me to pray when life was tricky, take naps often, and enjoy my own little slice of Hillsdale. The other told me that I would find some of my closest friends within the walls of Olds. Although the year isn’t quite over yet, I have a sneaking suspicion that the writers of those notes were 100% right.
Ashley Luke, ’28, plans to study humanities with a special interest in languages and writing. In her spare time, she loves tending to her sourdough starter, perusing art museums, and reading poetry.
Published in March 2025
