21
FALL/WINTER 2026
department hallway, a small speaker clipped to his
backpack blasting a song — maybe Motown, most certainly
jubilant — in his wake.
"I was like, 'Dude, what are you doing?'" she says.
Odonkor's answer, "I'm listening," was as earnest as it
was obvious.
"From the very beginning, as far as I can remember, he
was always doing something to be in the middle of music,"
Mitchell says. "He was so passionate, and people like that
just want to get better all the time. They never want to stop
learning."
