Ma'ayan Plaut ’10

Hi, my name is Ma'ayan Plaut, a proud Oberlin College graduate with a B.A. in cinema studies. I’m originally from Magnolia, Kentucky, with a more recent address on the Big Island of Hawaii. I didn't get a chance to visit Oberlin before enrolling, but it opened my eyes the second I arrived here for my freshman orientation and I haven't closed them since.

Before I began at Oberlin, I was interested in the visual arts, specifically photography and cinematography. I had the opportunity to explore both — within a classroom setting and as an extra-curricular — during my time as a student. Photography translated into wonderful opportunities and friendships, as I photographed for a number of student organizations and groups, both for fun and as a service to these wonderful collectives.

As a student, I was a voracious OSCA kid, living and eating in Harkness for three years and spending my final year as a member of Brown Bag Co-op. I also worked as a student manager at the Decafe, making adjective sandwiches and teaching new workers the finer points of sandwich, salad, smoothie, and coffee making. I also spent time docenting at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, working as a photo editor at The Oberlin Review, and showering first-years with information and advice as an Academic Ambassador.

The Office of Communications also played a huge role in my Oberlin life, as I spent two years as a student blogger, freelance photographer, and poster child. I began my post-college-graduate life in a one-year fellowship in web communications, which transitioned into a full-time position as Social Media Coordinator and now, my role has shifted again to the Manager of Social Strategy and Projects. I maintain the Oberlin Blogs (oh hello, you are here!), the Oberlin Stories project, plus Oberlin’s presence on various third-party social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, just to name a few) and I make sure that our stories and projects are ready to go anywhere and do anything. I like tell people that my job is to make Oberlin look awesome on the Internet and beyond, and it is, in fact, the best job in the world.

Now that I’m a big kid with a job, I actually have some spare time in my life, so I've done the ExCo-teaching thing (previously one on photography and one on social media — along with Ben Jones and Barbara Sawhill), I attend lectures and convocations, I cook and photograph elaborate meals, and I pounce on as many concerts and performing arts opportunities as possible.

Generally, I'm around (on the Internet and in real life), and I usually have a camera and a big grin. Don't forget to smile :)