Acerca de
Harvard Sibling Stories
Harvard alumni share how their siblings have enriched their experiences at Harvard and beyond.
Robyn Boyland AB ‘26 & Ryan Boyland AB ‘17
​
For Harvard College senior Robyn Boyland AB ‘26 and ER doctor Ryan Boyland AB ‘17, Harvard offered the opportunity to explore multiple paths and top-tier access to education.
While 8 years apart, the two ended up being part of similar organizations at Harvard College, experiencing the joys of that shared experience, which has brought them closer. Going to Harvard has given them a point of connection, be it using shared Harvard jargon or discussing why Kirkland is better than Cabot.
At her Harvard College interview, when Robyn was asked what organizations she would want to be a part of on campus, having done no prior research, she mentioned the only club she was familiar with, the one her brother had talked the most about: Kuumba. Ultimately, she followed her brother's footsteps, and they both served as Kuumba President. Ryan went to Kuumba’s winter 2025 concert, and it warmed his heart to see Robyn sing, dance, and lead a choir. He’s learned a lot from seeing Robyn as a leader in her own community, enabling him to reflect on the ways in which he approaches his own leadership style.
Growing up, their family emphasized faith, excellence, kindness, respect, and commitment to hard work. Being raised in a predominantly white neighborhood, they were urged to set the standard, not only representing themselves, but also their community.
They carry those values with them today, and the years have allowed their understanding of those values to mature and deepen. As an ER doctor, Ryan sees many people from different backgrounds, oftentimes on their worst days. To him, if one starts with respect—respecting their pain, their experiences, their stories—everything else falls into place. The foundation of empathy is a respect for each other’s humanity, and he can’t think of a world where he would meet anyone with anything less.
Robyn was inspired to accomplish great things by seeing her family members do them first. She hopes that through sharing stories of her and her brother’s experiences navigating the world as Black academics, they can inspire a similar drive in those to come, both in their family and beyond.
Amber Ashley James AB ‘11, MBA ‘19, JD ‘19 & Keith James Jr. JD ‘15​
​
Education is a key part of the James family’s DNA. For Velisa Wine founder Amber Ashley James AB ‘11, MBA ‘19, JD ‘19 and Weiss Zarett Brofman Sonnenklar & Levy, P.C. senior counsel Keith James Jr. JD ‘15, their parents collectively have 3 Harvard degrees, so Harvard was always in their minds during their educational journey as the place for the best and brightest. There are photos of them in Harvard bibs as babies. Amber shared, “Our parents started us on the Crimson Kool-Aid very young, and it worked!”
Going to Harvard helped them grow closer by advising and sharing experiences with one another. Amber graduated from the College before Keith started at the Law School, and advised him on all the best aspects of Cambridge. Simultaneously, Keith graduated from Harvard Law School (HLS) before Amber began her JD/MBA program, and he gave her advice and offered suggestions on how to approach her law school experience. For Amber, she had a much better time at HLS with her brother’s guidance (and his outlines).
Keith’s favorite memories are when he would visit the Law School for firm recruiting while Amber was at Harvard College, and he and Amber would have dinner at fancy Cambridge restaurants they could not afford as students. Amber fondly reminisced, “I LOVED running up at tab at Harvest and Henrietta’s Table on those firm budgets! Those were the good ol’ days.”
Their family emphasized responsibility, hard work, and excellence. Growing up, they often heard the adage, "You have to be twice as good to compete with your white counterparts.” Their parents also emphasized that education is a privilege, and that they must use it wisely. Their mom, attorney Elaine Johnson James JD ‘82 integrated her high school, and their dad, West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James Sr. AB ‘79, JD ‘82 was the first Black student body President at his. Both were the first in their families to go to college. With Black people’s systemic exclusion from education opportunities in the US, there was an emphasis that those able to study at such a prestigious institution must do something meaningful with that platform.
Their parents also modelled the importance of service to the community and helping those less fortunate. “God gives seed to the sower” is a phrase their mom loves that has stuck with Amber. She tries to live that out and hopes to pass it on to her kids and Keith’s kids. Keith hopes to carry those values forward by instilling in his future children the importance of hard work and taking care of their responsibilities to the best of their ability.
Opeoluwa "Ope" Falako AB ‘22 & Simileoluwa “Simi” Falako AB ‘20
​
For Duke University School of Medicine MD candidate Opeoluwa "Ope" Falako AB ‘22 and Columbia University MD/MBA candidate Simileoluwa “Simi” Falako AB ‘20, their sisterhood made Harvard feel like home.
For Simi, she really loved the community that Harvard provided and was very excited to share that with her sister. It was delightful having her in college because it felt like a home away from home. Going to Harvard at the same time enabled them to grow together in college, learning a lot about one another as they grew into their respective personalities and identities.
For Ope, having a sibling at Harvard aided with the transition. Moving to the Northeast was a significant source of anxiety for her, but knowing her sister was there helped ease her fears. Ope described Simi as having been “a wonderful resource for academics, professional development, or just hanging out. Even when she went to Yale for my last two years, I appreciated being able to hop on a bus/train to visit her for a weekend.”
Simi made it her mission to leave Harvard’s campus better than how she found it, even in the smallest of ways. Having her sister in college with her made that mission more personal and tangible because the work that she was doing was actively impacting how her sister’s class would experience college.
One of Ope’s favorite memories was convening friends to celebrate Simi’s birthday. For Simi, her favorite memory was attending the Harvard-Yale game with her younger sister and having Ope meet all of her friends across both campuses. People would mix them up a lot!
Growing up in a Nigerian household, their family emphasized values like respect, discipline, hard work, and faith. These showed up in their daily lives through how they treated their friends and professors, supported one another as siblings, and approached school and responsibilities with seriousness and excellence. There was also a strong sense of accountability; they were expected to represent their family well and look out for each other.
Service and community were equally important. Whether through helping others or staying connected to their culture and extended family, they were taught that success means little if you don’t bring others along. This is what they continue to emphasize as they navigate life and build their careers and families.
Jackie Omorodion (HMS Resident & Faculty) & Jacob Omorodion JD '20
​
For as long as pediatrician and HMS pediatrics instructor Jackie Omorodion could remember, she wanted to be a doctor. She’d always loved working with kids and in high school, developing an interest in genetics that only grew over time. With this in mind, following medical school graduation, she hoped to complete a combined residency and fellowship program in pediatrics and medical genetics, respectively, at a strong institution where she knew she would get incredible training in both disciplines. She wanted to see a high volume of patients with interesting presentations, while also having access to strong mentorship and research opportunities. The combined program based at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School was her top choice due to this, and she felt very fortunate to have matched there.
WilmerHale LLP Senior Associate Jacob Omorodion JD ‘20 was always passionate about making international change and the critical role of politics and policies for transforming outcomes of whole peoples. He focused on international relations during his undergraduate degree at McGill University and his master's degree at the Unviersity of Oxford, but soon came to the view that to really understand and be effective in international relations or international law, one needs to know both- they are effectively two sides of the same coin. That, and understanding the transformative potential of law, made him want to pursue law. Harvard, with its world-recognized name and storied institutions, seemed like the ideal place to pursue it.
A favorite memory of theirs was when Jackie visited Boston/Cambridge while on the residency interview trail. While she was visiting, they got to explore Harvard Square together and catch up with Jacob’s friends. It offered a nice glimpse into what life would be like living in the same city again.
Jackie and Jacob saw it as a privilege and a gift to be able to share not just the university, but the city as siblings. It was helpful to have someone else have a sense of both the pressure and potential in the academic space they were navigating, and it was great while they overlapped to be only a stone's throw away from each other. With Jacob having lived there for three years and still maintaining strong connections, and Jackie still living in Boston and practicing as a physician, it has also been great seeing Boston/Cambridge become something of the natural center point for their family in the US.
For Jackie, Jacob has always been the more daring of the two of them, setting ambitious goals and pursuing them with confidence. Watching him take risks and succeed showed her that it is possible to aim high and achieve what might initially feel out of reach, pushing me to be more courageous in my own pursuits. Jacob has also always been Jackie’s sounding board, someone she can turn to for perspective and honest feedback. Having someone who knows her so well and isn’t afraid to challenge her has been invaluable. Having him in her corner has made her a more confident and well-rounded leader.
To Jacob, Jackie’s structured, responsible temperament has complemented his daring nature and rooted him. In moments of decision paralysis, when needing to sense-check assumptions, or when needing order amongst way too many variables, having Jackie as his sister has been a critically impactful and differentiating factor. In many ways, Jacob sees the courageous side of his personality as made possible by his subconscious awareness that he can always root himself in her groundedness. This has allowed him to push himself into new spaces and contexts that have shaped him as a leader. Being one of four siblings with materially different personalities has also been critical in making Jacob comfortable navigating difference and communicating effectively.
Jackie and Jacob’s parents instilled in them the belief that they can achieve anything they put their mind to. They also acknowledged their varied strengths and passions, and placed a strong emphasis on always putting family first. Day to day, that meant they were encouraged to aim high while also showing up for one another. They celebrate successes, offer support during challenges, and always stay closely connected.
Jackie is a new mother to a four-week-old little girl, and she hopes her daughter grows up also believing she can achieve anything she sets her mind to with hard work and determination. Jackie hopes to instill this in her so she can feel confident when pursuing big goals and exploring different interests, both personally and professionally. Equally important, Jackie hopes her daughter understands the value of family; that no matter where life takes her, she is grounded in love and support.
For Jacob, his siblings have helped him appreciate that no two extraordinary gifts look the same nor two paths proceed alike. There is greatness in everyone, and it's so important to affirm and cultivate what people are passionate about, and to be allies to their exploration of self, so that they might land on the space and path that resonates with their values and sense of purpose. He hopes to be an accessory to his (not yet existent) children's journey of finding their sense of purpose and carving their own paths. He wants to pass on his parents' unflinching belief that there is greatness in every child, and combine that with the lessons from his siblings of the real diversity of ways that can take form.