To the Editor:

The article in the March 7, 2014 Review, “Oberlin Ranked U.S.’s Worst Return on Investment” (Aidan Apel, author and College senior), is one we read with interest. In light of rising tuition costs, there have been numerous articles on the value of a liberal arts education in the media. We appreciate and understand that one doesn’t attend college to get a job, but rather to learn; yet we also acknowledge the post-college job market is more competitive than ever.

We have two students at Oberlin, and our family has a history here. We strongly believe that Oberlin is a wonderful school — a place with so many options and opportunities, a place for young minds to explore, learn and determine “what’s next.” We also believe that Oberlin prepares its graduates, on many levels, to enter the world and make their mark.

It is precisely these beliefs that led to a surprise. When, as a first-year, my youngest went to Career Services to explore the possibility of internships in the medical/physician field, he discovered that there were no standing, established opportunities. Armed merely with a URL and password to the OC alumni website, perhaps he could find a doctor or two there. Wow.

In his search, he compiled a list of 15 names. Really, only 15 alumni are doctors? Actually, no. Of those, two were not doctors and several others had inaccurate/outdated information on the site. This was troubling, to be sure; fortunately, we had other contact options which yielded several shadowing and exposure opportunities.

We wondered further about the situation: What if there were OC students that did not have other contact options? Maybe there were other fields of study that did have internships and perhaps pre-med was just an outlier. Alas, no, there were very few established internship programs through the College, and Career Services was not as robust as we had assumed it would be for a college with the reputation of Oberlin.

As our students have progressed through Oberlin, we have become involved in a parent group that is working with Career Services to increase the number of internship options. Hiring Career Center Director Richard Berman is an excellent start; however, we agree with the article — we need more Richard Bermans to really get our Career Services capabilities and opportunities up to expectations. And expectations at Oberlin should remain high. This is not something Oberlin does in a vacuum. All parents and alumni can make a difference by working with their employers and businesses to create internships within their work place or, at a minimum, contacts for exploring opportunities.

The following week, reading the March 14 Review, we expected there might be some opinion on Aidan’s article — we were not disappointed. In our view, the response missed what Aidan was perhaps trying to suggest. In an effort to be globally minded and socially just, Oberlin cannot lose sight of the fact that not all students matriculate to the Peace Corps or work in the social justice domain.

There will be graduates that plan to move into a myriad of careers. Oberlin must continue to do its best to prepare all of its graduates for whatever futures they plan. Providing courses and career services that can stimulate learning, inspire creativity and prepare graduates, even those ir Student Sen- enon call ons, for an ever-changing, highly competitive, unjust, divided world is a tall order. However, with a 181-year track record, we believe Oberlin is up to the challenge.