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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![Emma takes a selfie with two calves on a winter day](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/emma_marshall_18.jpg?itok=YWAQ5BYn)
On the freedom of a month of independent study
“Winter term at Oberlin has taught me to follow my instinct. Winter term isn’t about finding a perfect project that will make your life story more exciting; it’s about finding yourself in a project.”
Emma Marshall ’18
![American students with a Japanese family](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/amy_hourcade_15.jpg?itok=_voBu6Fz)
On her winter term in Tokyo
“I was thrust out of my comfort zone, thanks to Oberlin, and have never been happier.”
Amy Hourcade ’15
![Rebecca with a group of people in a city setting.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/rebecca_klein_18.jpg?itok=c6EgZAso)
On reawakening an interest in accessibility
“As a Student Accessibility Advocate, my world at Oberlin expanded. I met new people just as interested in conversations about disability as I was, people whom I now consider some of my closest...
Rebecca Klein ’18
![Lena stands under a rainbow](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/lena_glickman_15.jpg?itok=yVpcz7I4)
On finding the lull in the storm
“I have learned the value of quiet... that taking a break from thinking so hard to just feel for a moment is what makes me happiest at Oberlin.”
Lena Glickman ’15
![Kayakers on a lake](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/hannah_fuson_11.jpg?itok=AE33eWKJ)
On exploring new things
“I saw an outing club poster on a bulletin board. Though skeptical, I signed up for the trip, and spent a day hiking around the Appalachian foothills... [and] I never looked back.”
Hannah Fuson ’11
![Asishana intently studies an open textbook](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/asishana_osho_10.jpg?itok=WFAI8O7o)
On being pre-med
“Oberlin has a great reputation among graduate schools. According to one of my [medical school] interviewers, we are known for producing some of the ‘most talented, most versatile and most driven...
Asishana Osho ’10
![Sam swings a racquet.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sam_towne_12.jpg?itok=7zfkdFHm)
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
![A mangled jeep and other debris by a beach.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/martha_tenney_83.jpg?itok=0CQYsQLX)
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
![People gather around an information table at an outdoor event](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jake_holtzman_16.jpg?itok=NSELCky8)
On exploration
“Although we are all at Oberlin to go to school first and foremost, I don’t see an Oberlin education as complete without at least exploring the other opportunities that are so readily at our...
Jake Holtzman ’16
![Two people sitting on the floor](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/caitlin_oneill_11.jpg?itok=7xPU7YMI)
On study abroad
“Even though there were days when I missed my family and friends so much that it hurt, days when I thought that another rainy day would drive me up the wall, I would not trade my experience for the...
Caitlin O'Neill ’11
![A group of people having a meal together.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sien_rivera_13.jpg?itok=X31tf3_i)
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
![Michael, with city lights and a blurred taxi in the background.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/michael_vito_04.jpg?itok=DXCUTaRu)
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