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.
Add your story
![With only sand visible to the horizon, three people jump off a dune.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/rachel_colwell_10.jpg?itok=yY700czF)
On spending a semester in Tunis
“Intrepid or crazy, there I was, jumping off the deep end, learning to swim, learning about other people and about how to be myself in a new place.”
Rachel Colwell ’10
![Wering a shirt that reads 'I will create the next [blank space]', Lauren tinkers with a device](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/lauren_wong_16.jpg?itok=-DTKmt1B)
On joining Women in Math and Computer Science
“I found friends, a support system, connections, and something I was willing to speak up about, which is what I think Oberlin is all about.”
Lauren Wong ’16
![A grade school class learns about a sculpture at a museum](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/dessane_cassell_14.jpg?itok=mbwDbSnD)
On a change in perspective
“The distinction between my vantage point and that of the students had yielded entirely different interpretations of the work without us even realizing it.”
Dessane Cassell ’14
![Sage is dwarfed by snowy mountains.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sage_aronson_12.jpg?itok=HRPMZ4W2)
On collecting stories in Nepal
“I had this fantastical notion that I would just walk up to someone, and be like, “Hey man, you have any stories?” Then, I would sit back, regaled by their idiosyncratic tales. This was not to be the...
Sage Aronson ’12
![Two women handle a spool](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/alia_kate_08.jpg?itok=ZMoXBXm0)
On her new rug-importing venture, Kantara Crafts
“I have just returned from Morocco with my first batch of rugs and the excitement is palpable; what started with my desire to make a difference on a local level two years ago has now turned into a...
Alia Kate ’08
![Actors rehearse a scene.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/maggie_keenan-bolger_06.jpg?itok=LAazm7Gp)
On writing and producing her own play
“Without the tenacity and fearlessness of the staff at Oberlin, as well as the flexibility of creative exploration, From the Inside, Out would never have become a reality.”
Maggie Keenan-Bolger ’06
![Evan beside a video monitor showing environmental data](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/evan_tincknell_14.jpg?itok=M3GDSste)
On joining the Great Lakes Research family
“It’s incredible to be engaging with people from whom I am constantly learning, and to be taking academic courses that seem so relevant to my work and the world in general.”
Evan Tincknell ’14
![Sean reads with the 'Reading Girl' statue in the library.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sean_nagamatsu_07.jpg?itok=Zv5g-rlI)
On learning to be a writing tutor
“It was not simply a course in how one tutors. It was an exploration of writing as a catalytic form of expression and interaction. It was the complete taking apart of how I put together words and...
Sean Nagamatsu ’07
![Anita with a group of young women in Mongolia](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/anita_fahrni_65.jpg?itok=6hwi2r8p)
On changing the world, one book at a time
“After returning, I started to collect, sort and send books. Within 10 years, over 220,000 books would find their way from my garage to libraries throughout Mongolia!”
Anita Fahrni ’65
![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 group of friends on a warm spring day](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/hillary_swiss_11.jpg?itok=F3Pt_Tx4)
On her 4-6 a.m. show on WOBC, the student-run college radio station
“Walking to and from Wilder in the middle of the night was extremely surreal, and I remember vividly how excited I was to share music with whoever was awake during my “rite-of-passage” first-year...
Hillary Swiss ’11
![A group of two dozen people, many of them black and some white. Circa 1960.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/susan_cowan_knebel_60.jpg?itok=2y6w7d3l)
On learning to teach literacy
“I had answered a call for volunteer tutors in a night school created by a gentleman who was born a slave. Literate, he wanted to help folks from the South who had come north for jobs in Ohio and...
Susan Cowan Knebel ’60