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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![Two friends laugh while mock-wrestling.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/melissa_atlas_13.jpg?itok=QO-HTl9c)
On friendship
“...it’s not just about tenuous links with some people you eat lunch with at school and sometimes see on weekends. It’s about strong relationships with people who actually care and support you...
Melissa Atlas ’13
![Jessica receives a huge, ceremonial check for $10,000](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jessica_levine_95.jpg?itok=7qmMCK6A)
On the level of teaching at Oberlin
“Great teachers make a difference in our lives because they knew how to support us and how to push us. Educators at Oberlin do so in the most masterful way. They are both craftsman and scholars. They...
Jessica Levine ’95
![A man and woman hold two young children](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/chase_palmer_08.jpg?itok=UHK62FFA)
On opportunity
“I spent many years grappling with what type of profession I wanted to pursue in my life. I considered medicine, legal work, and many other paths. But one thing always remained the same: my passion...
Chase Palmer ’08
![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
![Netta Rappaport](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/netta_rappaport_12.jpg?itok=MDn0gQ1F)
On the ExCo Program
“What other place allows any undergrad student with a decent idea to create and teach their own course?”
Netta Rappaport ’12
![Jules tries to balance on a log over a stream](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jules_brouillet_10.jpg?itok=joRrUquE)
On the things to do at Oberlin
“There are enough great organizations, activities, events and concerts here that it is impossible for one student to do everything or even half of everything. The hardest decision that many students...
Jules Brouillet ’10
![A violinist rehearses](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/crystal_sheffield_12.jpg?itok=jcO98kmH)
On visiting Oberlin
“As I planned my schedule of classes to visit, I found myself tempted by the different departments listed and the variety of classes offered. I barely had time to fit in a conservatory class because...
Crystal Sheffield ’12
![Protesters holding a sign reading We March for Pablo Lopez Romero](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/cynthia_malasky_11.jpg?itok=Ve_nhxr-)
On working with IWP
“For two months, I have been in charge of the Oberlin region, working with two other student interns to teach English classes, serve as interpreters, and prepare for court cases for undocumented and...
Cynthia Malasky ’11
![Wearing an apron, Weelic holds up a bottle of siracha and a whisk.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/weelic_chong_15.jpg?itok=VMOvlIR6)
On OSCA tofu making
“I learned what tofu meant to me: steeped in tradition and innovation, tofu is where the new and old come full circle, a circle spanning generations, a circle catalyzed in Harkness’ kitchen.”
Weelic Chong ’15
![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
![Peter with his son as a toddler.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/peter_rathjens_81.jpg?itok=_5qXo_-o)
On watching his son attend Oberlin
“As much as Jake’s experience is distinct from mine, I’m glad that Oberlin is in no rush to move past the values and culture that provided me with so much 25 years ago, and that are serving Jake so...
Peter Rathjens ’81
![Juliette stands atop a high cliff, with mountains and sky behind her](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/juliette_lu_12.jpg?itok=blXie8Zf)
On interning at a hedge fund
“I had preconceived ideas of finance as a lofty, entirely mathematical, robotically exact, and overall boring kind of field. In no way, shape, or form would I have predicted that I would end up where...
Juliette Lu ’12