Welcome Home, LGBTQ+ Oles!
Join the College Archives and the History Department for the official celebration of St. Olaf College’s first LGBTQ+ Oles Oral History collection. The celebration event will include a short panel discussion, a pop-up exhibit featuring items and stories from the collection, and a reception. All are welcome!
Event Title: Welcome Home, LGBTQ+ Oles!
Hosted By: The College Archives and the History Department
Supported By: Alumni and Parent Relations and College Events
Date: October 11, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM
- 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Reception & Pop-Up Exhibit
- 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM | Panel Discussion
- 6:15 PM – 6:30 PM | Closing Remarks
- 6:30 PM | Event Concludes
Location: Kings Dining Room, Buntrock Commons, St. Olaf Commons
P.S. Homecoming 2025 is also happening on October 11, and is worth the trip! Cheer on Oles at football and soccer, catch the St. Olaf Band in the evening, and pop into the archives exhibit for a memory lane moment. Wander the Campus Green for lawn games, pumpkin painting, and treats (apple tasting, boba samples, popcorn, cotton candy). Bring your friends and enjoy a Saturday packed with fun on the Hill..
More about the collection: The LGBTQ+ Oles Oral History Project launched in August 2024 as part of the Honest Storytelling Project for St. Olaf’s sesquicentennial. Inspired to find queer and trans histories of St. Olaf that were hidden in plain sight, Averill Earls (Associate Professor of History) and Jaden Janak (Assistant Professor of History) embarked on a journey to talk to as many alumni as they could. In just over 12 months and with the help of five student researchers, they have collected over 50 oral histories from LGBTQ+ alumni, from the class of 1966 to the class of 2026. Participants were invited to tell their stories in sessions ranging from one to three hours, then invited to review the transcript before donating it to the College Archives. In addition to oral histories, the LGBTQ+ Oles Oral History Project team have been working with alumni to collect important ephemera that sheds light on queer and trans life and love at St. Olaf. This is a living collection, which the research team will continue to grow indefinitely, as long as alumni and other members of the St. Olaf community are willing to share their stories. It is our goal that this archive be a shining example of the contributions, lives, and histories of LGBTQ+ Oles, who deserve to be valued and have their stories be told.
