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 her semester in Ghana
Sarah Frank ’09
“Sankofa means “return to your roots.” Sankofa is an important concept, because in order to grow, you cannot always move forward. You must go backwards, and go home, in order to make the distance...
On a poignant winter term project
Megan Cox ’18
“The lessons I learned and the experiences I added to my cache in life have yet to fully reveal their meaning to me; I know, however, that these lessons will continue to guide me throughout the rest...
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 the Big Swap
Stacia Thompson ’11
“We are sustainability royalty for the week. Who else would skate home wrapped in a down comforter and carrying green alligator pillows under their arms all in the name of re-use and resource...
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 studying abroad
Jessica DePaz ’14
“I embraced that experience because it helped me learn a lot more about myself. I found my voice, my interest in learning different languages, and my interest in teaching.”
On making new friends on a service trip
Charlotte Landes ’13
“Everyone was open to each experience we encountered, greeting each inevitable trial with a smile, a shrug, and a “we’ll figure it out.””
On finding his “voice” again after so many years of medical training
Tom Carroll ’96
“I am blessed that I remained firmly committed to my seemingly disparate passions for voice and medicine. Professor Miller must have been able to see something then that I never could have...
On her semester abroad
Nora Frederickson ’10
“What does dancing on the bar of a rural Austrian disco have to do with an Oberlin education? (Answer inside!)”
On the way we treat writing at Oberlin
Judy Karasik ’75
“I was so deeply engaged and tangled up in writing as a living, morphing entity, that when I got to graduate school I couldn’t tolerate the aridness of what passed there at the time for intellectual...