After reading a family friend’s collection of Earlhamite magazines at his home in Japan, John Ozai ’27 discovered a community that matched his intellectual curiosity. ‘I was like OK, that’s it. I’m going to Earlham.’
Flipping through old copies of Earlhamite magazine, 6,000 miles away in Japan, John Ozai ’27 was struck by the obituaries, which revealed the meaningful lives Earlham College alums had lived. At that moment, he knew he wanted to apply to the college and spend the next four years of his life on the Richmond campus.
“It is a strange approach, to read the obituaries and say, I want to live like that,” says Ozai. “But that was the first thought that came to mind, that these people were genuinely happy with what they did and what they were able to give to their community. And I was like, ‘Ok, that’s it, I’m going to Earlham.’”
“It is a strange approach, to read the obituaries and say, I want to live like that,” says Ozai. “But that was the first thought that came to mind, that these people were genuinely happy with what they did and what they were able to give to their community.
John Ozai ’27
Ozai grew up in Japan with his mother, who is originally from Ohio. The family made friends with one of the few other American immigrants in the area, including Earlham alum Paul Rector ’69.
Ozai always admired and respected the life that Rector led — he’d lived with his family in the mountains and had originally moved to Japan during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector. When Rector passed away, his wife gave the Ozai family his old Earlhamite magazines during the time Ozai was trying to decide where to attend college. It felt like fate.
“I would say it’s the greatest decision that I made in life,” he said. “It’s just like my curiosity is sparking all over the place, and it’s just phenomenal.” ■
Story by Autumn Young. Photo by Josh Smith