Oberlin Stories Project
On road trips with lacrosse teammates
“As we were passing the Firestone tire factory, I remarked, “All I can smell is burning rubber.” A minute later a car passed, the driver gesturing frantically. Glancing around, we realized that our...
Hank Willems ’76
On answering the “What’s your major?” question
“I am an economics and mathematics major. I feel, though, that I am an Oberlin major; the liberal arts approach helping me discover the subjectivities involved with looking at the world though...
Ashwin Kambhampati ’14
On the Multicultural Resource Center
“The MRC serves as my springboard; as a timid first-year, it gave me the strength to go out into the frightening unfamiliarity of campus and thrive, because I knew I had a home to go back to.”
Sien Rivera ’13
On the men’s Ultimate Frisbee team’s year-round outdoor practices
“The cold tests our mettle, and when a seemingly endless winter finally departs, we know that we’re tougher and harder than any of our opponents.”
Mike Dirda ’09
On becoming a scientist
“Oberlin taught me to view the natural world with wonder and curiosity, and gave me the tools to pursue that curiosity in a systematic way. This isn’t to say that Oberlin turned me into a data-loving...
Jake Grossman ’08
On attending the Tank pig roast
“Events like this, where wildly different people end up hanging out together, are common at Oberlin.”
Brook Luers ’12
On studying in London with David Walker
“Threading it all together were the conversations gently led by David about and around these plays, supplemented by talk of poems, novels, museum visits, and films, and from these emerged the...
Sze Foong ’99
On the Oberlin Orchestra China Tour
“... in spite of the stress and discomfort, my memories of the tour are overwhelmingly dominated by those moments of recognition that we experience only when we travel, the overriding reminders of...
Nicolee Kuester ’10
On training
“With the curtain obscuring most of the fieldhouse from view, the track became a tunnel that my distance mates and I would fly around countless times at every imaginable speed and level of (dis)...
John Shaw ’07
On the lifelong connection to Oberlin’s values
“Oberlin instills in each student a dedication to improving the lives of others... I continue to incorporate my four years of experiences into my everyday life while working in the U.S. House of...
Christopher Sanders ’08
On a day in the life of a double-degree student
“I was congratulated by friends who had either attended my honors economics presentation or had played my piece in the orchestra... how impossible my life would have been had I taken my diverse...
Woan Foong Wong ’09
On organizing a mentoring program in Lorain, OH
“The culture of Oberlin encourages students to get deeply involved in what they are passionate about and to make a difference.”
PJ Carter ’09