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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![Amanda proudly shows a sapling she has planted.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/amanda-salmons_560x420.jpg?itok=Wk87zdY_)
On Tending the Learning Garden
I learned what grew where and when each species bloomed...I learned that actively engaging in nature, every day, is the best teacher of these things—better than any book or classroom could ever do...
Amanda Salmons ’23
![Harriet stands by a waterfall.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/harriet_mcsurdy_23.jpg?itok=uMBV-DMd)
On Promoting Youth Climate Action
‘‘Prior to attending Oberlin, I was unaware of the extent and impact of climate change. In the fall as a first-year, I was introduced to research in the environmental studies department and was...
Harriet McSurdy ’23
![A group poses with papier-mache dragon's head, vintage 1970s](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/asia-house-dragon.jpg?itok=XgbJesUq)
On the Asia House dragon
“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...
Bill Heinrich ’81
![Ty Diringer](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/ty_diringer_14.jpg?itok=XY5Y61_V)
On embracing public speaking
“My tenure on the Student Union Board helped me to know with certainty that I wanted to enter a world of pivotal dialogue with a firm, clear voice, and gave me confidence that I could.”
Ty Diringer ’14
![Patrick holds up a bowling ball under colorful lights.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/patrick_doherty_11.jpg?itok=kVQ-ioqr)
On bonding with professors
“On bowling night, anyone interested in the History department can come to the College’s bowling alley and bowl for free! Why is this fun? Because most of us can’t bowl to save our lives.”
Patrick Doherty ’11
![Diane Yu](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/diane_yu_73.jpg?itok=RevSNSEk)
On choosing Oberlin
“I had devoted countless hours in high school to efforts to better integrate the Rochester school systems and didn’t want to go to a place where diversity was an afterthought.”
Diane C. Yu ’73
![Five people, arms around one another](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/alice_ollstein_10.jpg?itok=L8HU1Arb)
On what a student co-op in Oberlin has in common with Nicaragua’s strongest union
“As we sat in my host mom Jacinta’s kitchen, I felt like a true partner, fighting alongside the UNAG because we want the same things for the same people.”
Alice Ollstein ’10
![Rachel Benson](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/rachel_benson_08.jpg?itok=sMaTZ7tS)
On civic engagement
“Fast forward four years, many hours of community service, a lot of growing up, and one Oberlin degree later, and I found myself back in a place where I sought solace and found empowerment - through...
Rachel Benson ’08
![Lauren with Prof. Belitsky and another student](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/lauren_choban_16.jpg?itok=Ov9SINhT)
On opportunity
“At Oberlin, there is something—a club, a research lab, a play—for everyone to take part in, succeed in, and, best of all, enjoy.”
Lauren Choban ’16
![Handing out pamphlets on a city street](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/evelyn_wagaman_17.jpg?itok=2jAv0nuv)
On deciding to go vegan
“It’s this passion that I’ll transplant into my academic work this fall, as I begin writing an Honors thesis in philosophy on animal ethics.”
Evelyn Wagaman ’17
![Anna works on the cover of a book at a wood table](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/anna_arays_10.jpg?itok=_-UAgAWa)
On passion
“I spent my junior year working in Special Collections: looking at rare books, taking them apart, putting them back together, petting, and loving them. The job was fantastic: this is what I’d always...
Anna Arays ’10
![Rosie and friends, costumed as The Avengers.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/rosie_hertzman_15.jpg?itok=jnOL_b4Y)
On the power of Harry Potter
“In a society that looks down on childlike excitement over anything, OHPA taught me that it’s okay to be unapologetically enthusiastic about popular culture and that passion, no matter what form it...
Rosie Hertzman ’15