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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![Michael, with city lights and a blurred taxi in the background.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/michael_vito_04.jpg?itok=DXCUTaRu)
On skills learned in the Conservatory
“In [performance], we must take all of the experience and ability we have attained through our own development and integrate it with that of others... an exercise in fluid, nonhierarchical leadership...
Michael Vito ’04
![Group of students seated on a staircase](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/abbas_mohsin_13.jpg?itok=51Kf3mws)
On being a part of the Student Finance Committee
“Oberlin retains a special place in my heart because of the people, and being part of the student organization at the core of student life on campus helped me cultivate those friendships.”
Abbas Mohsin ’13
![Sze Foong](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/sze_foong_99.jpg?itok=uRYiG1go)
On studying in London with David Walker
“Threading it all together were the conversations gently led by David about and around these plays, supplemented by talk of poems, novels, museum visits, and films, and from these emerged the...
Sze Foong ’99
![A group of friends at night, some of them sprawled on the grass](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/emily_brennan_15.jpg?itok=WWEnTEPg)
On making friends
“The benefits of the meaningful conversations I had with my new friends outside of the classroom were robust... My friends became my teachers — a true Oberlin education.”
Emily Brennan ’15
![Niels stands on his head, twisting his legs in a pose.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/niels_bantilan_09.jpg?itok=gUsNvbSf)
On discovering hip-hip culture at Oberlin
“As I accumulated more knowledge about the music, art, and history of hip-hop through my independent research, I started to think outside the dance.”
Niels Bantilan ’09
![At a table with sign Christ Cares for Cancer stands a group of people wearing tee shirts that say Relay for Life: Hope](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/amanda_turley_10.jpg?itok=F6g2Sgix)
On fighting back
“My freshman year, I joined the planning committee for Oberlin’s first ever Relay for Life. For the event, I started my own team: the Pirates Dueling Cancer, decked out in black and red pirate attire...
Amanda Turley ’10
![A quarterback releases the ball toward a receiver](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/greg_mangan_09.jpg?itok=8DFHy9wx)
On his roommate, Mike Loll, during their first pre-season
“He knew all the plays. He knew where to be at all times. He moved effortlessly through the logjam of the field. He was a natural.”
Greg Mangan ’09
![Prof. Schiff meets with a student.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/prof_ben_schiff.jpg?itok=qWEJOZdb)
On requiring students to write memos
“For many students, writing short is harder than writing long - but I believe it to be a valuable skill to add to the arsenal of writing styles that we promote here at Oberlin.”
Prof. Ben Schiff
![Group of students stand together](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/arjuna_pettit_14.jpg?itok=8f_CI2Fx)
On pushing boundaries
“I still remember the sense of accomplishment that I felt after completing the final exam for Bio 100. I had conquered the beast.”
Arjuna Pettit ’14
![Karin Drucker](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/karin_drucker_11.jpg?itok=vY1WW_4s)
On falling in love with political theory
“I dorked out shamelessly to my uninterested friends about the authors and topics that grabbed me, but I also found others who were as curious as I.”
Karin Drucker ’11
![Wendell Russell, Jr.](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/wendell_russell_71.jpg?itok=1PVa4jcC)
On the ethos of Obies
“My Oberlin was very much a time and place of social ferment and activism, and while the issues may be different today, I know that Oberlin students will always be deeply involved in cutting edge...
Wendell Russell, Jr. ’71
![Group of people standing together, smiling](https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/styles/story_350/public/content/story/image/jacob_lamoureux_12.jpg?itok=NEk8ovNx)
On Oberlin’s terrific teachers
“When I graduated from high school, I thought the days of personal relationships with teachers who cared about me were over. Well, I’ve only been wrong once in the past 20 years, and that was it.”
Jacob Lamoureux ’12