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 being a member of the men’s tennis team
“When I look to the court next to me and see a teammate fighting hard, I am motivated to give it that extra ounce of effort. We are all striving to reach the same goal.”
Sam Towne ’12
On things working out
“School has had its ups and downs, but going into my senior year, I can finally understand why people say that college is such a good time in your life; when people said that to me freshman year, I...
Hyacinth Parker ’17
On the lasting effects of her time at Oberlin
“Years later I have a career in public health and the things I love are the things I loved that helped create the squiggly route to NOW. ”
Martha J. Tenney ’83
On organizing a winter term project about coal’s life-cycle effects in central Appalachia
“thanks to the strength of the Oberlin community and the support that is so close at hand, the road between imagination and realization isn’t as far as it might seem.”
Benjamin Jakubowski ’11
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 studying abroad
“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.”
Jessica DePaz ’14
On skills learned in the Conservatory
“In [performance], we must take all of the experience and ability we have attained through our own development and integrate it with that of others... an exercise in fluid, nonhierarchical leadership...
Michael Vito ’04
On making new friends on a service trip
“Everyone was open to each experience we encountered, greeting each inevitable trial with a smile, a shrug, and a “we’ll figure it out.””
Charlotte Landes ’13
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 way we treat writing at Oberlin
“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...
Judy Karasik ’75
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 getting to New Orleans
“Navigating time commitments and cost restraints, I was surprised by how many opportunities appeared in front of me.”
Cria Kay ’16