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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![Diane Yu](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/diane_yu_73.jpg?itok=RevSNSEk)
On choosing Oberlin
“I had devoted countless hours in high school to efforts to better integrate the Rochester school systems and didn’t want to go to a place where diversity was an afterthought.”
Diane C. Yu ’73
![Five people, arms around one another](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/alice_ollstein_10.jpg?itok=L8HU1Arb)
On what a student co-op in Oberlin has in common with Nicaragua’s strongest union
“As we sat in my host mom Jacinta’s kitchen, I felt like a true partner, fighting alongside the UNAG because we want the same things for the same people.”
Alice Ollstein ’10
![Rachel at a French canal.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/rachel_ippolito_13.jpg?itok=dcF-MU4c)
On studying abroad in France
“I was lost. But rather than moping around in disappointment, I decided to embrace the novelty of all that was around me.”
Rachel Ippolito ’13
![Zoe and a dog on the front steps of a brick house.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/zoe_gould_14.jpg?itok=dETARWOj)
On becoming a writer
“This piece was not just a reflection of my own competency, like other formal essays had been; this was someone else’s story entirely.”
Zoe Gould ’14
![A college student reads to agroup of attentive preschoolers](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/leah_awkward-rich_17.jpg?itok=jOd70HxH)
On tutoring at Head Start
“I witnessed the kids I spent several hours a week with mature emotionally and personally, and I was given the opportunity to participate as they learned brand new concepts.”
Leah Awkward-Rich ’17
![Handing out pamphlets on a city street](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/evelyn_wagaman_17.jpg?itok=2jAv0nuv)
On deciding to go vegan
“It’s this passion that I’ll transplant into my academic work this fall, as I begin writing an Honors thesis in philosophy on animal ethics.”
Evelyn Wagaman ’17
![Anna works on the cover of a book at a wood table](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/anna_arays_10.jpg?itok=_-UAgAWa)
On passion
“I spent my junior year working in Special Collections: looking at rare books, taking them apart, putting them back together, petting, and loving them. The job was fantastic: this is what I’d always...
Anna Arays ’10
![Sam at the dinner table with his host family.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sam_good_09.jpg?itok=4rQIurJm)
On studying abroad
“I have dozens of hilarious stories that encapsulate a year of cross-cultural misunderstandings with a group of genuinely caring people who went out of their way on an hourly basis to make sure I was...
Sam Good ’09
![Maggie with a friend.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/maggie_killman_13.jpg?itok=xxFzsOWe)
On becoming a Latin major
“I realized how passionate everyone around me was about the exact same things ... they all shared the exact same joy I felt from studying such an obscure but wonderful language and culture.”
Maggie Killman ’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
![Ben on stage wearing a cape](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/ben_ferber_11.jpg?itok=oSp7wgiI)
On there being too much to do at Oberlin
“I always thought I was good at time management, but handling five classes, three plays, two student organizations, an RA job, a radio show, and a social life as an Oberlin sophomore is a little like...
Ben Ferber ’11
![Shawn gives a piggyback ride to a friend.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/shawn_roggenkamp_08.jpg?itok=2FmpW9iI)
On bonding over Boredom, a semi-improvised drama
“My other friends couldn’t believe that we had Saturday night rehearsals, but the cast would have all spent Saturday nights together regardless.”
Shawn Roggenkamp ’08