Owen Ritter ’24 is a budding branch on a family tree with deep Redbird roots.
Appears InRitter graduated from Illinois State University in May exactly 50 years after his grandfather Bill Arbogast ’74, and 101 years after his great-great grandfather Chester M. Hammerlund, class of 1923. And they’re just three from a family that’s produced at least one graduate every decade since the 1890s. Ritter’s mother and many cousins, aunts, and uncles have also graduated from Illinois State.
“Pretty much everyone went to ISU, so I can talk about and connect with all of them about my time in college,” Ritter said. “I was brought to all the Homecomings, and we went to a lot of games. I still remember when Jackie Carmichael hit a game-winning 3-pointer when I was a ball boy.”
Such memories are shared when the family gathers, and Arbogast has many. He’s still making them.
“I love the Bloomington-Normal area,” he said. “It’s nice living in town and still being able to take advantage of the opportunities the University has to offer.”
Arbogast’s “Redbird family” extends even beyond biological connections.
“Living in the dorms, I gained 30 brothers all of a sudden,” said the former Manchester Hall resident. “I think ISU does a great job of making campus feel like home to people who don’t have a legacy here, who didn’t grow up in town.”
The grandfather and grandson exchange stories regularly, and that continued at Ritter’s graduation and pinning ceremonies when he earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in May. Arbogast and other family members were in attendance.
Ritter may be leaving the nest and spreading his Redbird wings, but he’s certain he’ll return to reminisce and create more memories, just like his Redbird relatives before him.
