Oberlin Stories Project
On bonding over Boredom, a semi-improvised drama
“My other friends couldn’t believe that we had Saturday night rehearsals, but the cast would have all spent Saturday nights together regardless.”
Shawn Roggenkamp ’08
On the larger Oberlin Community
“I was looking for a college with a town...I wanted to be able to engage in a community outside of the college itself. I found that when I visited Oberlin.”
Miata Rogers ’14
On Oberlin’s terrific teachers
“When I graduated from high school, I thought the days of personal relationships with teachers who cared about me were over. Well, I’ve only been wrong once in the past 20 years, and that was it.”
Jacob Lamoureux ’12
On choosing an Oberlin path
“My Oberlin career, like many, has been far from linear, and I am glad that I have strayed from my plan. A planner at heart, changing gears, changing life goals, was a rocky and emotional process,...
Brenna Larson ’14
On opportunity
“I showed up at a meeting with a vague notion that I might want to work as an intern on Capitol Hill. What I hadn’t expected was that a professor I barely knew, Paul Dawson, would place me with an up...
Susan Troy ’76
On running and surviving senior year
“I outlined my thesis on thirteen-mile long runs. I wrote my application essays on bus rides to races. My experiences as a student-athlete influenced my proposal to study high-school athletics during...
Nicky Ouellet ’09
On birthday celebrations
“Had my roommate known that I had secretly always wanted to do a scavenger hunt for my birthday ever since my older sister had one when I was 8? Probably not.”
Jocie Sobieraj ’15
On making new friends
“Our relationship began with laughter and silliness, and Kelin has been my dorky big sister away from home ever since.”
Christopher Ayoub ’15
On OSCA tofu making
“I learned what tofu meant to me: steeped in tradition and innovation, tofu is where the new and old come full circle, a circle spanning generations, a circle catalyzed in Harkness’ kitchen.”
Weelic Chong ’15
On watching his son attend Oberlin
“As much as Jake’s experience is distinct from mine, I’m glad that Oberlin is in no rush to move past the values and culture that provided me with so much 25 years ago, and that are serving Jake so...
Peter Rathjens ’81
On the Oberlin College Dialogue Center
“[we work] with the hopes of building an inclusive campus-climate and global community where individuals can interact with each other earnestly ... and live amongst each other with a sense of...
Kantara Souffrant ’08
In summarizing her many Oberlin memories
“There is so much to do and learn at Oberlin... if you are admitted, choose Oberlin; when there, take as many different courses as you can, meet as many people as possible.”
Karen Gebhart Flint ’64