Sophomore Nolawi Aklilu was born in Washington D.C. but moved to Solon, a suburb in Cleveland, Ohio at the age of three. He lived there for ten years before moving to Portland. Aklilu notes the difference between Portland and Cleveland during winter.

“ The one bad thing about Portland is the snow. In Ohio, they have so much snow. In Portland, […] I don’t want to disrespect it, but they don’t know how to take care of the snow,” said Aklilu. “[Solon] had its own cleanup crew that would clean up the snow and take care of the street, so the only time there would be a snow day is if it was either negative temperatures [or] if it snowed overnight.”

Aklilu has not been back to Cleveland since moving, but he wishes to visit over the summer.

“ I want to go this year because this year I get my license, so no matter what, [even] if my parents say no, we have three cars [and] I can take one and drive all the way there,” said Aklilu.

Aklilu has been running track since his freshman year, where he met sophomore Micah Clark and became friends through the practices.

Aklilu is in his second year taking Arabic at Lincoln. In addition, he speaks partial Amharic.

“ It’s the language of Ethiopia. I’m Ethiopian, so my parents, [will] speak Amharic to me, and I’ll understand it, but I kind of go blank when I try to speak to somebody,” said Aklilu. “It’s like Arabic [where] I can’t remember on the spot, but if somebody’s speaking to me, I’ll understand what they’re saying, but when I’m speaking to somebody, because I didn’t take any classes, I don’t know what to say to somebody else, but I know 100% what they’re saying to me.”

Aklilu has been running track since his freshman year, where he met sophomore Micah Clark and became friends through the practices.

Clark would characterize Aklilu as outgoing.

“He’s helped me become more extroverted because he’s pretty extroverted. He’s helped me to talk to more people and meet more people,” said Clark.