Oberlin Stories Project
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 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 being selected as a Cole Scholar
“Across the board, students emerge from the program feeling academically invigorated, and many have a keener sense of personal identity. I am no exception.”
Tyler Robinson ’11

On playing Ottavia
“While it’s entertaining to talk about my grand expertise in lying on the floor, this experience truly did expand my abilities as a performer.”
Patty Stubel ’09

On cooking over winter term
“The Foodship was my refuge... of camaraderie and gastronomy with a splash of eccentricity on the top.”
Daniel Dudley ’12

On the energy of the arts at Oberlin
“This is Oberlin at its best. The constant performance, observation, and absorption of art in all its various forms. Oberlin is a place where art and creativity thrive, as long as there are students...
Adam Kander ’07

On studying the legacy of war in Nicaragua
“I set out to learn from the village’s people by gathering oral histories of those who were living during the war and learning how it changed their lives and their country.”
Rachel B. ’15

On leaving Oberlin and returning
“What I thought must be standard fare at all colleges - the excellent music, the spectacular art museum, the earnest students - proved not to be standard at all.”
Emily Nord McClintock ’76

On the integration of classics in her life
“I’ve found beauty and strength in recognizing temporality, which has brought me to understand translation across language and temporal boundaries as a positive and connective process.”
Lauren Clark ’11

On discovering the community of Afrikan Heritage House
“I had found a community that I knew would have my back, a community that I have now come to love and am unable to see myself without.”
Ambre Dromgoole ’15

On the emergence of political awareness
“Before coming to Oberlin, I had never seen a demonstration or sit-in or even considered challenging government or college administration policy.”
Ruth Adler Rosensweig ’68

On learning Russian during Winter Term
“Sharing, with two of my best friends, those moments of joy and frustration, hilarity and utter confusion - it is something I could never have dreamed of anywhere but Oberlin, something I will...
Gwen Krosnick ’08

On exploring the radically shifting publishing world
“This is the chief thrill of interning at a literary agency. You never know if the next manuscript in the stack is going to be a dud or the potential classic of our time.”
Mack Gelber ’10