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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![Nolan in a classroom.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/nolan_grieve_10.jpg?itok=HiPJUcYr)
On an Oberlin education
“Each semester, to my continual surprise, Oberlin provides me both with the raw material of life experience and the tools with which to shape it into something with purpose.”
Nolan Grieve ’10
![Aaron before a winter landscape](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/aaron_kokotek_11.jpg?itok=9MTb-9lv)
On researching wolves in Minnesota
“We heard howls in the distance, howled in response, and heard the wolf pack reply to our call.”
Aaron Kokotek ’11
![Two people in groovy 1970s attire pose by a boulder painted with the words, Look Ma, We Made It](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/elizabeth_taylor_quilliam_74.jpg?itok=draOo5YV)
On the influence of an Oberlin education
“Oberlin was not simply a 4-year stopping point, but has been and continues to be an essential part of my journey. It taught me to be ever vigilant in seeking social justice, curious, caring, open to...
Elizabeth Taylor Quilliam ’74
![Professor Faber addresses a group.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sebastiaan_faber.jpg?itok=iReq7_81)
On an Oberlin education
“One of the most important things you will learn here is to express yourself, to engage in dialogue, to respect others’ ideas, and to allow them to change your own. ”
Prof. Sebastiaan Faber
![Group of students in a museum](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/althea_lamel_13.jpg?itok=tK-9Acdk)
On growing
“I realized I had come a long way from the student who sat in that class three years earlier doubting herself. I had become the articulate college student who had intimidated me so much in my first...
Althea Lamel ’13
![The Obertones rehearsing](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/kevin_hu_11.jpg?itok=AXFVfJP3)
On singing with the Obertones
“But as I would realize, this love was a postulate of the Obertones; something so obvious it needed no proof through audible declaration. Everyone in the Obertones loves to sing.”
Kevin Hu ’11
![An Oberlin soccer player in action](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/galen_brennan_17.jpg?itok=0w92XBEd)
On teammates becoming family
“In our most important game of the year, I stepped on the field for only the second time that year, a moment that made me realize how important the team had become for me. ”
Galen Brennan ’17
![Group of 18 students.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/rocio_leon_13.jpg?itok=01fKKbDA)
On being a Bonner Scholar
“Even though I am naturally shy and quiet, all the laughs, cheesy moments, and of course, all the Bonner Love... made me more comfortable to be myself and increased my confidence.”
Rocio Leon ’13
![Street musicians in India playing flute](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/anne_richmond_83.jpg?itok=wyjpEmGb)
On moving to India after graduation
“There is nothing like being immersed in another culture -- no longer being the majority -- to force one to recognize what profoundly cultural beings we really are.”
Anne Richmond ’83
![A hand-drawn sign, Welcome to SEED House, Student Experiment in Ecological Design, established Fall 2007](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/lucas_brown_09.jpg?itok=X8DpaZkQ)
On SEED house
“Oberlin’s support network made our successes possible. SEED demanded skills like composting, caulking, persuading, public speaking, and econometric analysis, and for each skill we required, we found...
Lucas Brown ’09
![Wearing an audio headset, Jabali works with a couple of school-age boys](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jabali_sawicki_00.jpg?itok=7UNTs13M)
Contributed by Prof. Laurie McMillin
“Jabali left Oberlin in 2000 with a degree in Biology and no set plans. But he knew he wanted to teach... At the age of 27, he became the principal of Excellence Charter School in Bedford Stuyvesant...
Jabali Sawicki ’00
![Sarah prepares a lesson plan.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sarah_fries_12.jpg?itok=Pqv44149)
On teaching the Planet Earth ExCo
“Most students at Oberlin are conscious of environmental pollution and the rapid depletion of resources. I wanted to tap into that awareness and help it manifest.”
Sarah Fries ’12