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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![Five people in hooded sweatshirts form a circle and join their hands at the center](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/eint_kyi_16.jpg?itok=edbB2h8D)
On a second home
“In addition to the rewarding experiences I’ve gotten from my service sites, over the past two years, the little house known as the Bonner Center became my go-to place.”
Eint Kyi ’16
![Students around a table examining newspapers](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/alicia_smith_10.jpg?itok=DaXKbah3)
On the Oberlin Journalism Workshop
“Meeting and working with some of the best in American journalism, many of them Oberlin alumni, was truly inspiring.”
Alicia Smith ’10
![Raquel Farah-Robison](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/raquel_farah_robison_11.jpg?itok=9Y1fvvsb)
On working with the America Reads program
“Witnessing both of my students’ growth and finding creative ways to nourish their newly found enthusiasm gave me a deep sense of fulfillment.”
Raquel Farah-Robison ’11
![Leanne with her daughter](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/leanne_wagner_76.jpg?itok=MKnd9j3H)
On progress toward gender equality
“Watching my daughter ... study with many more than one woman professor in the sciences, and not be constrained in her choices of what was to come after Oberlin, I realize that the Oberlin tradition...
Leanne Wagner ’76
![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
![Sam Skove](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sam_skove_12.jpg?itok=inNYI8yg)
On being a member of the Sunshine Scouts
“I felt I was part of a kinetic community, rather than a hermetically sealed club. They did improv because they liked using their imaginations.”
Sam Skove ’12
![Choir performance.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/martha_cargo_06.jpg?itok=mt6wM795)
On singing with Collegium Musicum
“Monday and Wednesday afternoons, beginning promptly at 4:30 in Fairchild Chapel, were brief windows of respite from our otherwise whirlwind college lives.”
Martha Cargo ’07
![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
![Two swimmers in the pool.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/shira_korn_11.jpg?itok=UeckxMUG)
On Oberlin being a Division III school
“This means that athletes are not allowed assistance in the admissions process or monetary incentives to come to a school, [which] meant that everyone on our team was participating purely for love of...
Shira Korn ’11
![Miata and 2 others work in the tall grass next to a brick building.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/miata_rogers_14.jpg?itok=UnM-bT8-)
On the larger Oberlin Community
“I was looking for a college with a town...I wanted to be able to engage in a community outside of the college itself. I found that when I visited Oberlin.”
Miata Rogers ’14