Nor Osborne & Ella Diehl, Special to The Denisonian—

Zooey George ‘26 is just like any other student at Denison, she grabs dinners at Huffman, she cheers at games and she very begrudgingly hikes up the Eisner stairs. The only real difference is whenever she introduces herself. 

As the daughter of John George, a member of the building services team, Zooey has a very recognizable presence on campus. 

“Almost every conversation goes ‘Zooey George- yep, John George is my dad’, it’s really funny,” Zooey said. “Most people might not know my face, but almost everyone on staff knows my name.” 

Similarly, Anabela Vivero ‘27 is the proud daughter of Micaela Vivero, a professor and the chair of the studio art department. Since Anabela focuses her attention more toward classes in the Physics and Math departments, she doesn’t see her mother that often on campus. Additionally, because of their focus in their respective departments, Dr. Vivero remained objective through Anabela’s college decision process. Anabela enjoys having her mom on campus, even if she doesn’t see her everyday.

“It’s nice, everybody loves my mom,” Anabela said.

Charlotte Eppley ‘27 notes that even though their step-dad works on the circulation staff in the library, their experience isn’t that different from any other student. 

“I guess the main difference is that I can order mail to home and have my step-dad bring it in with him. That way I get it much faster,” Charlotte said.

There is, however, another pretty big benefit for the children of Denison employees. Those who have a parent on staff, are eligible for full tuition remission. All three interviewees mentioned the financial benefits, which contributed to their decisions to attend Denison. That being said, each student is required to apply to Denison and is granted admission on the same grounds as every other student here. The interviewees expressed self-awareness and gratitude of the benefits that have been given to them.

“I’m practically a nepo baby,” Zooey said. “My dad being a part of this campus has definitely allowed me to make a lot of connections and even get a job more easily. I’m very lucky.”

Anabela and Charlotte expressed similarly that their parents assisted in their search for on-campus employment. 

“I know a portion of that is definitely his recommendation, but I did also put in a lot of work before I got the job,” Charlotte said. “As soon as I knew I had been admitted to Denison I started volunteering and getting to know the library staff, with the hope it would make me a better candidate for a job in the library.”  

Multiple students with a relative on faculty described discomfort with assumptions that have been made about them because of their parents positions. In fact one student declined to comment, worried that it might impact their fellow student’s perception of them.

“I know people might assume I’m not here based on my merit, but that’s just not true,” Charlotte said.