To the Editors:

You guessed it right, all those eerily Obie-like older people walking around campus the weekend of March 3–5 were in fact Obies. The ALC — Alumni Leadership Council of the Oberlin Alumni Association — was here for its spring meetings.

Reconnecting with life on campus to try to see what it’s really like beyond social media and news articles was one of our top goals. Dining with students at Pyle co-op, hearing the Obertones, chatting with students who helped cater our meetings and listening to professors was a great way to get a little taste of all that. But it’s never enough. We can’t help it — we love Oberlin!

Some key ALC discussion topics were how to build a relationship of trust and good communication with the incoming president of Oberlin, strengthening support for multicultural alumni interest groups, alumni interactions on social media and various governance topics. The Alumni Office updated us on the many activities they organize to engage alumni around the country and the world.

Marvin’s presidency was toasted with a surprise party kept so well under the covers, he was almost upset at us until his gift showed up: a photo album of all our memories built together. We also dropped in on the LaunchU pitches and loved seeing how Oberlin ideals can become a reality in the business world!

Wisr — you’ve likely heard about this tool that connects students and alumni to network and share ideas about work and life in general after you graduate. Does it feel a bit weird to ask strangers for job opportunities, how they got to what is actually your dream job and for help exploring whether to become a musician or a biologist? How to get the opportunity to live and work in Japan or run your own small outfit that will change the world? Many alumni have already signed up and would be happy to talk with you about how they accomplished those very same goals. To sign up, visit oberlin.wisr.io.  

We will be back on campus mid-July and are already bummed out that most of you will not be on campus.

– Bálint Gergely
OC ’00
Secretary, Oberlin Alumni Association