Creating Connection: Reon Ogawa ’28 Finds Home at Davidson
October 2, 2025
- Author
- Anna Gray Anderson Hart ’95
As a teenage basketball enthusiast, Reon Ogawa ’28 associated Davidson College with Stephen Curry ’10. But when Ogawa began his college search from his home in Diboll, Texas, he immediately felt the pull to become a Wildcat.
Exploring his college options, he combed through the videos on Davidson’s admission website.
“I wanted a smaller school, because I attended a really small high school,” he said. “I was looking for a sense of community, a place that felt like home.”
Ogawa has found that new community at Davidson.
The search for connection is a consistent theme in Ogawa’s life. At age eight, he moved with his mom from Kochi, Japan, to Texas. The only Asian student in his school, he felt like an outsider and struggled to make friends. But as his English improved, he grew more comfortable sharing his culture with his classmates and, in return, they showed increased interest in his stories. New friends, he discovered, were the key to a sense of belonging.
Ogawa carried that childhood lesson from Texas to North Carolina. Despite serving as high school valedictorian, earning placement in the QuestBridge Scholarship Program and receiving the Graham F. Smith ’77 Scholarship, Ogawa experienced imposter syndrome once he arrived on campus.
“I thought I was a good student,” Ogawa said, “but Davidson students are on a whole different level. There are so many smart people!”
Ogawa committed to building relationships with classmates and professors.
“In this small setting, I saw the same people regularly walking to class,” he said. “I learned to lean on the advice from older friends. The small classes offered the chance to get to know my professors. I started attending campus events, and all of these things facilitated an environment for a great college experience.”
One of the places Ogawa feels most at home is with other Japanese students. They enjoy sharing meals together and are hoping to start a Japanese club, revolving around cooking.
“My mom is a great cook,” he said. “Tonkatsu, a fried pork dish, is one of my favorite meals. It would be fun to share it with friends.”
Ogawa enjoys meeting new people and hearing their stories, an interest that fuels his desire to become a clinical psychologist. He plans to double major in psychology and sociology.
Asked to share advice with a prospective Davidson student, Ogawa said, “Don’t be afraid to be social and meet new people. Davidson will be different from high school, but the small community will open the doors to so many opportunities.”
