Catching up with Alumni: Brittney and Will Oberrender '09

This year’s alumni Commencement speakers are Brittney (Faber) Oberrender and Will Oberrender, a married couple who graduated from Breck in 2009. They agreed to be interviewed for our Breck Bulletin alumni highlight in preparation for speaking to the Class of 2020. Thank you Brittney and Will!

After leaving Breck, what did the next part of your journey look like? 

We both ended up going to Middlebury College after Breck; garnering the skepticism of our parents at the time, but luckily we proved them wrong :). At Middlebury, we both majored in Economics, played tennis for all 4 years, and spent a semester studying abroad — this time separately with Will in Madrid, Spain, and Brittney in Bordeaux, France. After college, we both moved to New York City, where we began our careers as analysts in the investment banking industry. Will has continued his career in banking and is now a Vice President in Debt Capital Markets at Barclays. Brittney left Morgan Stanley a few years ago and is now a Senior Product Manager at a fin-tech startup.  

On a more personal level, we were married back in September 2017 in Manchester, Vermont, with many of our Breck friends in attendance to celebrate with us. We are lucky to have a great group of friends and family in New York City, including Will's brothers who live within a few blocks of us. Will would be remiss not to mention his fantasy football league with his Breck friends, his favorite fall (read: all year) activity. Our most exciting update of late, however, is a new addition to our family: a baby boy expected in July!   

What does it mean to stay engaged with Breck as alumni?

In his 2020 commencement address, LeBron James asked graduates to follow the message of the pandemic — to “stay home” — but with a twist. He urged students to stay close to home and the communities that supported them from early on in their lives. This notion perfectly encapsulates what drives us to stay engaged with Breck as alumni. Although we’re physically far away from Minnesota (and Breck), it is important to us that we help build upon the values we appreciated most about the school, so that Breck students today are able to have the same rewarding experience that we did.

What do you remember from your own graduation?

Honestly, at this point, the only thing would be Brittney crying (as you can tell from the photo). While there was definitely excitement to be moving on to the next chapter of our lives, it is always daunting leaving behind a supportive, familiar community for something new and unknown.

 What are your hopes for the Class of 2020 as they prepare to leave Breck?

We hope that the Class of 2020 is able to keep in mind the old adage that this too shall pass. College and all of the related opportunities will be there for you. With that knowledge, we hope that you can cherish this extra time "stuck" with family. If you're anything like us, you'll eventually be so busy with studies, activities, jobs, and much more that it will not be easy to find uninterrupted family time like you are experiencing now. Finally, we hope that you continue to dream big and do not minimize your dreams to fit today's reality. You will have the opportunity to achieve them soon enough.  

 BONUS: You both married your high school sweetheart. But who had the crush on who first?

Will, although we are both very happy that he did! 

Brittney can be reached on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittney-oberrender-77b12b46/

Will can be reached on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamoberrender/