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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![Three runners in rain-soaked cross country team uniforms](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/gabe_brown_16.jpg?itok=yHng5M7n)
On overcoming physical injuries with community support
“Being on the cross-country team has been the glue that has held my Oberlin experience together.”
Gabe Brown ’16
![Anna shows off the garden next to Barrows](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/anna_ernst_10.jpg?itok=3kkHJ5aa)
On her first-year dorm
“I hope that incoming Obies who decide to live in Barrows or Dascomb will experience the same feeling I felt often my first year... It was simple, but I felt like I was home. I think that’s good...
Anna Ernst ’10
![Ryan at a dinner table with Barbara Sawhill.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/ryan_brazell_05.jpg?itok=tIwEAR5V)
On the Oberlin ethos
“It’s about refusing to put ANYONE into a box, regardless of what they may appear to be on the surface. It’s about treating others with dignity, and kindness, and respect, regardless of whether you...
Ryan Brazell ’05
![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
![Students in small group discussions](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/hope_rehak_11.jpg?itok=-H4nJAZ8)
On being part of the Posse scholarship program
“The other students who received a Posse scholarship to go to Oberlin that year were incredible leaders in their communities; I was proud to be included alongside them.”
Hope Rehak ’11
![A dozen people pose by an indoor brick wall](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/ben_newhouse_04.jpg?itok=rS574f2-)
On the lessons learned working for the Oberlin Review
“[I’ve taken] with me the grinding productivity, invention of necessity, and constant grace under constant pressure that I acquired down in Burton basement.”
Ben Newhouse ’04
![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
![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
![Young woman seated by an organ keyboard](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jenny_bower_13.jpg?itok=Iyg93kr1)
On learning to cook in a co-op
“But in a co-op, plan incorrectly and you could be swimming in pinto beans, have enough lasagna to cover a mummy, pop enough popcorn to fill a bathtub - or not prepare enough vegetables to feed a...
Jenny Bower ’13
![Charles performs with a computer and bright lights](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/charles_abbott_14.jpg?itok=rd0C7hNs)
On Oberlin’s inclusive music scene
“Collaboration plays a fundamental role in the community’s constant appetite for great art. This inclusivity is indicative of the communal Oberlin personality that makes it such an incredible place.”
Charles Abbott ’14
![Stewart's Oberlin College ID card, expiration date June 1974. Stewart has very long hair.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/stewart_kohl_77.jpg?itok=MTxF-32n)
On the ethos of Oberlin
“What made Oberlin outstanding then is still its magic - the students who want to learn, the faculty who want to teach, and the intense tradition of intellectual curiosity.”
Stewart Kohl ’77
![Nathan Heidelberger and Helmut Lachenmann](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/nathan_heidelberger_10.jpg?itok=1eODHj9x)
On working with composer Helmut Lachenmann
“Working with him was an opportunity of a lifetime, and I don’t think it could have happened anywhere else, at least not for a non-pianist like me.”
Nathan Heidelberger ’10