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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![Hannah seated at an outdoor café](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/hannah_varadi_15.jpg?itok=YBa73xrA)
On a (failed) attempt at an individual major
“I now have a better grasp of how all my language-based interests—translation, journalism, and, yes, fiction writing—tie into comparative literature.”
Hannah Varadi ’15
![Maddy with the other Business Scholars.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/maddy_dunn_16.jpg?itok=XBxxOC4q)
On lessons learned during the Business Scholars program
“If I stayed true to myself and focused on my strengths, I could make my own version of business.”
Maddy Dunn ’16
![Avital by a sunny window](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/avital_isaacs_10.jpg?itok=Q-PcYWQ0)
On the spirit of Oberlin
“Oberlin draws the creative, the overstimulated, the passionate, and puts them together for four years to marinate.”
Avital Isaacs ’10
![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
![A pair of hands places the top on a jack-o-lantern](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jane_sandberg_10.jpg?itok=W1VQRd6M)
On facing fears
“Sometimes the best way to get over an issue is to throw yourself into the middle of it and figure out how to make it work for you. This was the story of my first year at Oberlin... Oberlin is a...
Jane Sandberg ’10
![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
![A group of friends playing in a pile of leaves.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/melanie_malinas_13.jpg?itok=bG1Gn7In)
On adjusting to Oberlin
“Somebody suggested building a leaf pile in North Quad, because it was one of those crisp, fall days where you simply need to be outside playing with leaves rather than inside working on a paper.”
Melanie Malinas ’13
![A woman plays a pipe organ](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/catherine_oertel_99.jpg?itok=YMaVoTsu)
On teaching at Oberlin
“I have initiated new synthetically-oriented research projects in my laboratory here, but I have also continued my work on organ pipe corrosion with students who have been attracted by research that...
Catherine Oertel ’99
![Sue holds her diploma in one hand and her son's hand in the other.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sue_angell_99.jpg?itok=KN-7aS0s)
On being a non-traditional student
“I came to Oberlin in 1995, as a 22 year-old transfer student and the mother of a two year-old boy... determined to get the type of education that would help me raise my son as a single mom.”
Sue Angell ’99
![A disc jockey spins a record](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/joshua_davidson_12.jpg?itok=R67S20hh)
On having a show on WOBC
“In my years of DJing, the station always felt like a tight ship, full of equally obsessive folks seeking out just the right record and wanting to share that ecstatic moment with the greater...
Joshua Davidson ’12
![Two students cook food on a large stove.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/neal_schindler_01.jpg?itok=JiHK8uSj)
On cooking in a co-op
“I credit my co-op experience with teaching me how to be creative in a pinch, and to make the most of limited resources, not only in the kitchen but in life as a whole.”
Neal Schindler ’01
![Group of volunteers in jumpsuits and protective gear](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/colin_jones_08.jpg?itok=q_cc8Hqx)
On volunteering in post-Katrina New Orleans
“The values of service, hard work, and solidarity in the pursuit of justice that were instilled by Oberlin pushed us forward.”
Colin Jones ’08