Brandi Ferrebee

Major: English

I proudly hail from Winchester, Virginia, which is close enough to Washington, DC, to take a day trip but far enough that the agricultural landscape around Oberlin feels like home. (I like the cornfields and old houses!) I spent this past summer in Oberlin, and getting to know the townspeople and community has been an incredible experience, and I’d encourage you to get to know them during the year and any Winter Terms or summers you spend here.

I am a first-generation college student, and I spent a year at James Madison University before coming to Oberlin, my first choice college. Because I transferred, I decided to major in English and, rather than taking a second major or a minor, I’ve taken a classes in a wide range of departments: art history, sociology, biology, rhetoric (a grant-writing class), and several EXCOs. My capstone project for my English major will analyze the influence of Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury on Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.

There are so many great ways to spend your time at Oberlin. I’m a docent at the incredible Allen Memorial Art Museum (training is a yearly group winter term project in the museum). I am also one of the leaders of the transfer student organization, and I spend a staggering amount of time swing-dancing. I have worked for Financial Aid’s Student Employment office, hosted prospective students, and worked as the RA for the transfer hall. In the fall, I will be a senior intern for admissions and chair the Oberlin Swing Society.

I’m really excited to meet you, and I can hardly wait to answer your questions. In fact, I love answering questions, so please feel free to ask me about anything through your time at Oberlin!

Short List of Favorites

Local Cuisine: Black River Café, which serves amazing breakfasts and lunches made from local ingredients. My friends and I enjoy the very affordable weekend brunches (and occasionally mid-week breakfasts.) A personal favorite is their crème brulee.

Writer: Most people are required to read As I Lay Dying in high school and don’t enjoy it much. After taking a selected authors course on his work, I came to admire his body of work and role in southern identity. Plus, Faulkner was a larger-than-life character, and there are dozens of hilarious anecdotes about his life.

Under-advertised Resource at Oberlin: The Language Lab on the third floor of Peters has brand-new computers, cockatoos (the noise encourages you to speak out loud in the language you’re learning), foreign-language children’s books, and Skype. Also, the Free Store in the basement of Asia House is your year-round source for trading in items you don’t want anymore and picking up ones you need for free.

Favorite First-year Courses

BIOL 100: Organismal Biology. I took this class to fulfill some of my natural science credits, and wound up enjoying it so much that i considered being a biology major for a time. Though there were different instructors when I took the class, Professors Cruz and Moore are enthusiastic about their topics.

CAST 100: Introduction to Comparative American Studies. When I first arrived at Oberlin, I was immersed in a culture completely unlike what I had experienced before. This class was a shock to my system, but it taught me how to articulately discuss issues that are brought up often here.