Asishana Osho

aosho@oberlin.edu

Majors: French, biochemistry

Hello! I am an international student from Lagos, Nigeria, and I will be graduating next spring. I came to Oberlin expecting to concentrate solely on the natural sciences, but after taking a French course during my first year, I fell in love with the language and soon decided to make it a second major. Exploring the humanities and the natural sciences simultaneously has been an amazing experience for me. The best aspects of both fields have many interesting similarities that have only become evident through my education at Oberlin College.

My academic work has taken me through lecture style classes (over 100 students), small group sessions (as few as eight students), and research. These varying class structures have helped me learn in multiple ways, each contributing to the enrichment of my liberal arts experience. The research component has led me as far as Paris, France, where I studied comic literature of the First World War, at the National Library of France. I am currently involved in a microbiology research project that is providing me with first-hand exposure to research techniques and equipment used in laboratories all over the world. Oberlin opens doors but to find these doors, you have to be looking for somewhere to go. I look forward to discussing with you the doors I have gone through and the people who have opened them up to me.

Short List of Favorites

Local Cuisine: The Mandarin – Decent Chinese food.

Literature: I’m a huge fan of “Les Miserables” so Victor Hugo is at the top of my list for authors.

Under-advertised Resources at Oberlin: Intramural sports are fun and low key. They’re open to everyone so you should definitely take advantage of them. For people interested in languages: the language tables will improve your speaking abilities in seconds. The teaching assistants who staff the tables are amazing.

Favorite First-year Courses

French 203: Intermediate French: This class was central in my decision to major in French. Discussions sessions allow you to apply the grammar learned in class.

Math 133/134: Calculus I/II: The professors I took calculus I and II with were contagiously enthusiastic about the stuff they taught. I vividly remember Professor Young talking about the “sexiness” of a certain mathematical process that links pi to the number 6 – Amazing stuff.

First Year Seminars: Even though the seminar I took will not be offered this year, discussions with other students suggest that they had as much fun in their seminar classes as I did in mine. These provide a nice transition into college work and allow you to meet other first years under relatively relaxed conditions.