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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![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
![Asishana intently studies an open textbook](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/asishana_osho_10.jpg?itok=WFAI8O7o)
On being pre-med
“Oberlin has a great reputation among graduate schools. According to one of my [medical school] interviewers, we are known for producing some of the ‘most talented, most versatile and most driven...
Asishana Osho ’10
![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
![People gather around an information table at an outdoor event](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jake_holtzman_16.jpg?itok=NSELCky8)
On exploration
“Although we are all at Oberlin to go to school first and foremost, I don’t see an Oberlin education as complete without at least exploring the other opportunities that are so readily at our...
Jake Holtzman ’16
![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
![Two people sitting on the floor](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/caitlin_oneill_11.jpg?itok=7xPU7YMI)
On study abroad
“Even though there were days when I missed my family and friends so much that it hurt, days when I thought that another rainy day would drive me up the wall, I would not trade my experience for the...
Caitlin O'Neill ’11
![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
![Jonah plays alto sax at the Cat in the Cream coffeehouse](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jonah_berman_03.jpg?itok=k7P1Il5-)
On finding his place at Oberlin
“For me, the goal in truth was not to become the best saxophone player there ever was. It was to experience the incredible wealth of opportunities that Oberlin had to offer.”
Jonah Berman ’03
![Sue holds her diploma in one hand and her son's hand in the other.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sue_angell_99.jpg?itok=KN-7aS0s)
On being a non-traditional student
“I came to Oberlin in 1995, as a 22 year-old transfer student and the mother of a two year-old boy... determined to get the type of education that would help me raise my son as a single mom.”
Sue Angell ’99
![Cindy shows a research poster](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/cindy_camacho_11.jpg?itok=ogBle57X)
On becoming a scholar activist
“With the help of my wonderful mentor, Daphne John, associate professor of sociology, I am able to use the academic tools that I have gained at Oberlin to fight the battles of injustice.”
Cindy Camacho ’11
![Two students cook food on a large stove.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/neal_schindler_01.jpg?itok=JiHK8uSj)
On cooking in a co-op
“I credit my co-op experience with teaching me how to be creative in a pinch, and to make the most of limited resources, not only in the kitchen but in life as a whole.”
Neal Schindler ’01
![People at a party with streamers and balloons.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/vicky_costikyan_14.jpg?itok=DJjt5dTP)
On the community of Sci-Fi Hall
“I felt at home with the people around me, and I developed a confidence in myself that I had never experienced before.”
Vicky Costikyan ’14