We have collected hundreds of personal narratives from students, alumni, faculty, and staff that explain the merits and strengths of Oberlin through the eyes of those who have experienced it firsthand.
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On the Asia House dragon
Bill Heinrich ’81
“It would have been tedious work except that it was ambitious, self-directed, and had nothing to do with classes or credits. What made it something to look forward to was the enjoyment of working...
On being part of the Posse scholarship program
Hope Rehak ’11
“The other students who received a Posse scholarship to go to Oberlin that year were incredible leaders in their communities; I was proud to be included alongside them.”
On the lessons learned working for the Oberlin Review
Ben Newhouse ’04
“[I’ve taken] with me the grinding productivity, invention of necessity, and constant grace under constant pressure that I acquired down in Burton basement.”
On organizing Dr. Seuss Day at the local public library
Sophie Schacht ’10
“I am one of six people on the varsity softball team who tutors in the Oberlin public schools -- my first order of business was to recruit the entire team.”
On America’s first black president
Myrina D. McCullough ’69
“I’m glad and proud that I … and countless other Obies who have also shared their stories here all rejected the paralyzing fear of “otherness” that keeps people apart and keeps our world fragmented.”
On learning to cook in a co-op
Jenny Bower ’13
“But in a co-op, plan incorrectly and you could be swimming in pinto beans, have enough lasagna to cover a mummy, pop enough popcorn to fill a bathtub - or not prepare enough vegetables to feed a...
On Oberlin’s inclusive music scene
Charles Abbott ’14
“Collaboration plays a fundamental role in the community’s constant appetite for great art. This inclusivity is indicative of the communal Oberlin personality that makes it such an incredible place.”
On being successful in business
Thomas Kutzen ’76
“It takes the same willingness to be involved that I discovered at Oberlin, the ability to examine the community and to be an individual therein with the right blend of independence, challenge,...
On an Oberlin education
Nolan Grieve ’10
“Each semester, to my continual surprise, Oberlin provides me both with the raw material of life experience and the tools with which to shape it into something with purpose.”
On organizing a Bassoon Quartet tour of China
Joycelyn Eby ’09
“As someone who was reluctant to go to college “in the middle of a bunch of cornfields,” I now can’t imagine having gone anywhere else for school ... no other institution would be so supportive of my...
On the improv scene at Oberlin
Corina Bardoff ’07
“[It] is so accepting and completely full of fantastically talented and inventive people who want nothing more than to “yes” what you give them.”
On creating Yafo Harmony
Zach Resnick ’16
“I proposed a program that combined all my passions—social justice, music, and language learning—and with a generous CIGSIE grant, I was able to bring it to life in Yafo.”