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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![Lauren by a bronze sculpture of a wolf suckling two human infants](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/lauren_clark_11.jpg?itok=7J9QRuyF)
On the integration of classics in her life
“I’ve found beauty and strength in recognizing temporality, which has brought me to understand translation across language and temporal boundaries as a positive and connective process.”
Lauren Clark ’11
![A group of 7 people dressed alike in black shirts and bluejeans](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/ambre_dromgoole_15.jpg?itok=P4AQcDeU)
On discovering the community of Afrikan Heritage House
“I had found a community that I knew would have my back, a community that I have now come to love and am unable to see myself without.”
Ambre Dromgoole ’15
![Ruth Adler Rosensweig. Black & white yearbook photo.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/ruth_adler_rosensweig_68.jpg?itok=6cc-h5Tp)
On the emergence of political awareness
“Before coming to Oberlin, I had never seen a demonstration or sit-in or even considered challenging government or college administration policy.”
Ruth Adler Rosensweig ’68
![Two friends in Russian-style fur hats](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/gwen_krosnick_09.jpg?itok=xOImzYtD)
On learning Russian during Winter Term
“Sharing, with two of my best friends, those moments of joy and frustration, hilarity and utter confusion - it is something I could never have dreamed of anywhere but Oberlin, something I will...
Gwen Krosnick ’08
![Mack walks along a city street.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/mack_gelber_10.jpg?itok=cvW9wEYx)
On exploring the radically shifting publishing world
“This is the chief thrill of interning at a literary agency. You never know if the next manuscript in the stack is going to be a dud or the potential classic of our time.”
Mack Gelber ’10
![Ashley stands by a lake surrounded by mountains](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/ashley_docherty_13.jpg?itok=j-WhBdTX)
On discovering intramural sports at Oberlin
“At Oberlin, I expected to just exercise my mind; playing intramural basketball gave me a chance to get moving and be a part of a team.”
Ashley Docherty ’13
![Sean is positioned at one section of a sprawling Gamelan. Many of the pieces resemble xylophones.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sean_hanson_11.jpg?itok=1nGURUZd)
On learning to play the Gamelan
“...the difficulty helps me begin to lose my identity in the group and let me center myself. It’s become a way of life for me, and changed the way I view everything around me.”
Sean Hanson ’11
![Knee deep in water, Jake studies the surrounding plants and makes notes on a clipboard](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jake_grossman_08.jpg?itok=quDWE388)
On becoming a scientist
“Oberlin taught me to view the natural world with wonder and curiosity, and gave me the tools to pursue that curiosity in a systematic way. This isn’t to say that Oberlin turned me into a data-loving...
Jake Grossman ’08
![Meghan wears a honemade, cardboard TV costume at the soccer field.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/meghan_schott_06.jpg?itok=Rf0nAPWc)
On the freedom to be herself
“At Oberlin, for the first time I was able to venture well outside-the-box without criticism. For Halloween, the soccer staff allowed the players to dress up for practice ... [and I] decided to be a...
Meghan Schott ’06
![Brook in a field of wildflowers](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/brook_luers_12.jpg?itok=iMOsBc7_)
On attending the Tank pig roast
“Events like this, where wildly different people end up hanging out together, are common at Oberlin.”
Brook Luers ’12
![Stewart's Oberlin College ID card, expiration date June 1974. Stewart has very long hair.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/stewart_kohl_77.jpg?itok=MTxF-32n)
On the ethos of Oberlin
“What made Oberlin outstanding then is still its magic - the students who want to learn, the faculty who want to teach, and the intense tradition of intellectual curiosity.”
Stewart Kohl ’77
![Three runners round the bend on an indoor track](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/john_shaw_07.jpg?itok=lp7PYsRd)
On training
“With the curtain obscuring most of the fieldhouse from view, the track became a tunnel that my distance mates and I would fly around countless times at every imaginable speed and level of (dis)...
John Shaw ’07