Volunteer

There are many opportunities for you to engage with fellow Obies in your region. Learn more about regional communities, host an alumni event, or volunteer as a regional coordinator!

Class Officers and Class Connectors

Class Officers and Class Connectors are key Oberlin advocates, helping to keep classmates connected and engaged while strengthening Oberlin for future generations.

Class Officers (2001 and prior)
Class Connectors (2002-present)

Reunion Planning Committee Member

Reunion Planning Committee Members make reunion weekends a success with their energy, enthusiasm, and ideas to ensure programming is relevant to fellow classmates. Whether you contribute by organizing programs and events, fundraising in support of your reunion year, or encouraging friends to come back to campus, you’re helping to make the weekend a meaningful and entertaining experience for alumni.

The interaction alumni have with prospective students is critical in bringing Oberlin to life and in ultimately encouraging a student to apply and enroll at Oberlin. Volunteers can help by representing Oberlin at a college fair, by speaking with students at receptions, and by interviewing students.

More information, including the Alumni Recruiter Information Form, is available online at the Alumni Recruiting Network.

There are several ways to share your expertise with the campus community! 
Click on the name of the role to view a position description and additional details about how to get invovled.

Internship Host

Internships provide the critical link between classroom learning and real-world experience, as well as helping students develop the professional skills they need to succeed. As an Internship Host, alumni have an opportunity to share their expertise with current Oberlin students while gaining an eager and capable intern to support their company or organization.

Alumni may choose to host an Oberlin intern(s) during Winter Term or offer a Summer Experience.

Winter Term Micro-internship Program: Winter Term Micro-internships are project-based learning opportunities providing students with hands-on experience within a specific career field. They are short-term, unpaid (but providing academic credit), 100-hour projects that take place every January. For more details, please visit the Winter Term Micro-Internship website.

Summer Internships: Summer internships vary in length and scope. Typically these are paid experiences ranging from 6 to 12 weeks (240 hours or longer) depending on start/end dates. These opportunities include internships, research positions, pre-professional experiences, and performance-focused roles that are integral to a student's academic and career trajectory.

Career Presenter/Panelist

Career Presenters/Panelists play a vital role in bridging the gap between academic learning and the professional world. By sharing real-world, up-to-date information on industry trends, career pathways, and essential skills, they provide students with valuable insights into various fields and professions. Additionally, through telling the story of their own personal career journey, they help students appreciate the diverse paths that can lead to success and encourage them to set and achieve their own career goals.

Through interaction with presenters/panelists, students gain confidence in communicating with professionals, asking insightful questions, and making meaningful connections that can support their future careers.

Typically, these volunteers are identified/recruited by a CED staff member.

Campus Presenter/Panelist

The Campus Presenter or Panelist participates in the life of the Oberlin community by enhancing the curricular and/or co-curricular education of students. Presenters offer students real-world and contemporary information about subject matter and possible career opportunities to assist in the students’ educational and professional development.

Typically, these volunteers are identified/recruited by faculty, staff, or student organization members and their visits to the classroom/campus are arranged with their campus hosts.

Alumni in Service to Oberlin College

Guidelines

Overview

• The purpose of the Alumni in Service to Oberlin College (ASOC) grant program is to provide the opportunity for Oberlin alumni to connect, via a public lecture or performance, with the current Oberlin College and Conservatory community with a primary focus on undergraduate students.  Current students should have the opportunity to understand and explore the impact that Oberlin had on the alum’s career and personal endeavors.
• The visitor must be an alumnus/na of Oberlin College or Conservatory.
• There should be at least one public lecture provided to the campus community. The ASOC program does not fund alumni visits solely to individual classes or courses.  There must be a public announcement in a public venue for the larger campus community. See Publicity and Marketing below for more details.
• A curriculum vitae and recent photograph (e-version is fine) must be submitted to the Office of Alumni Engagement within two weeks of your initial application. 
• The ASOC visitor will have a breakfast or coffee meeting with a representative of the Office of Alumni Engagement. It is the responsibility of the sponsoring organization to inform the alum of this commitment and to include it in any formal schedule given to the alum. The Office of Alumni Engagement covers the cost of this meeting and it is not considered part of the $500 allocation.
• Only the original alumnus/na listed on the application is approved for funding.  If the original guest has to cancel his/her visit to campus, a new application must be submitted to the Office of Alumni Engagement and the approval process begins anew.  Funding does not automatically “roll over” to a new speaker. 
• ASOC will fund no more than two alumni guests for the same department or student organization in an academic year.
   

Accommodations

• The sponsoring organization needs to make all accommodations reservations.  The Office of Alumni Engagement does not provide this service.
• Contact The Hotel at Oberlin or one of the local bed and breakfasts to arrange housing for your visitor. Please make sure to alert The Hotel at Oberlin reservations desk that you are reserving a room for a college event and would like the special college rater. You may find a full list of accommodation options on the college visiting Oberlin page.

Publicity and Marketing

• At least one public lecture (to the campus community) must be provided by the visiting ASOC speaker. The Office of Alumni Engagement encourages sponsoring departments/organizations to fully utilize the expertise of alumni visitors with a variety of scheduled events, student meetings and other activities that enhance the academic community. We encourage sponsoring organizations to carefully consider the many interests and abilities of the visiting alum and match them with a wide array of appropriate campus departments, student organizations, and other campus groups. 
• Be sure to include the Office of Alumni Engagement on all – paper and online - advertisements for the appearance.  Wording should be along the lines of: “Special thanks to the Office of Alumni Engagement for their support of this lecture” or similar.  If there is a group of sponsors, it is fine to just include “Office of Alumni Engagement” in the list.
• All alumni lectures and appearances must appear on the online Events Calendar.  It is the responsibility of the sponsoring organization to post this information online at least fourteen (14) days prior to the visit.
• It is expected that a poster or flier for the alumni appearance be created and posted around campus at least seven (7) days prior to the visit.
• Any requests for photographers or public relations outreach should be directed to the Office of Communications.

Reimbursements and Payments

• For direct reimbursement to the alumnus/na: The sponsoring department or student organization is responsible for reimbursing the alumnus/na.
• For transfers of funds and/or reimbursements to departmental accounts: You must submit an expense reimbursement form and the original receipts to the Controller's Office.  You will then need to send an email requesting reimbursement with the departmental account number to credit along with copies of all paperwork, including receipts and invoices for travel, airfare, car rental, individual meal receipts, and/or lodging costs to alumni@oberlin.edu.
• Invoices generated by the sponsoring organization will not be reimbursed.
• Alumni in Service to Oberlin College funds may only be used for approved travel expenses, including lodging, air or car fare, and meals for the individual visitor. 
   

ASOC funds may not be used, in full or partially, to pay for: honoraria, stipends, gifts, receptions, group dinners, or other entertainment events. 

Funding support from other campus sources, such as academic departments or student organizations, is encouraged and expected. The Office of Alumni Engagement rarely serves as the sole sponsor for an alumni speaker. 

* These guidelines are provided as a service to sponsoring organizations and may not cover all the aspects of event-planning that need to occur for your situation.

Please review the guidelines above before applying.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. We recommend applying as early as possible because funds are limited.  

Applications must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the event date to be considered.

Apply here!

We recommend using the ASOC Sponsor Checklist while planning your event.

Questions? Contact the Office of Alumni Engagement at alumni@oberlin.edu or 440.775.8692.