All Roads from Oberlin
Season 1
by Julian Worth, Maddie Henke, and Patty Stubel
A panel episode! Maddie asks human resources careerpeople and Oberlin alums Jackie Hilton and Sarah Dunn questions from real life 2020 Oberlin grads. Wondering when you’re going to have to give up on your dreams? Big question! We answer it! We talk traveling, recovering from this recession, the shortcomings of accepted wisdom, setting boundaries with parents, life as a project plan, carving out space to learn TikTok dances, and generations of best friends in Mickey Mouse ears. We also design your next tattoo.
Patty interviews Oberlin Alums Alex Paik (runs marketing agency specializing in travel and hospitality) and Topher Soltys (manager of the Public Theater in NYC), who discuss their careers in the travel and theatre industries, finding home, being useless for a bit, the American connotations of quicksand, and crying on trampolines. Don’t go to the University of Chicago. Do go to Circus School.
Nina Zhou, ‘08 Oberlin Conservatory grad, tells Patty her story: from finishing up her doctorate in piano performance at Indiana University to pivoting towards development and advancement work in the classical music world. She touches on defining success, fundraising, “analysis paralysis,” transferable skills, the prospect of changing platforms for your art in the midst of COVID, and joy-bringing tomatoes.
Shawn Roggenkamp, ’08 Obie alum and art historian, tells Maddie her story: transitioning from theater kid to art historian, moving to New York on a whim, grad school in the U.K., and finding a career at Christie’s. We talk networking, the worst job she ever had in a very fancy apartment, never having to give up the arts, and why majors don’t always matter.
Olivia Winter, ’08 Obie alum, tells Maddie her story: from leaving grad school and neuroscience, to entering the tech world, to now — returning to grad school to become a therapist. We discuss her unexpected spiritual shift, making space for happy feelings, the lonely challenges of creating community post-grad, and her future vegan farmstead.
Louis Grube, ‘08 Obie alum and current lawyer, tells Julian his story: from growing up in Oberlin, to a major in philosophy, to becoming a lawyer. We talk getting bad grades, pop punk emo band breakup, the last line of your resume, law school (don’t waste your twenties on it), and how to be cool and have a good life. Also, he’ll buy you a drink at the Feve!
Leigh Wilson, ‘08 Obie grad, tells Maddie her story about moving through life without a plan: from an upstate New York snowstorm, to a couple of years with Americorps, to finding happiness at a grocery store. We talk unemployment, a 1950s housewife stint, sexEd trivia night, treating people well, and how to find a good community.
It’s not about the job you have; it’s about how you do your job. Patty interviews Obie alums Danielle Mundekis (Inclusion manager, DEI space), Megan Karsh (Peacebuilder, Trojan Horse), and Joel Solow (NYC teacher and activist), who speak on the role of DEI, strategically using leverage, non-profits, and working for people you like. How do you hear yourself so you can live your values right now?
Welcome to All Roads from Oberlin! Patty Stubel, Julian Worth, and Maddie Henke talk just a bit about what you’ll be hearing this season. Episodes drop by September 1. You can listen on our website allroadsfromoberlin.wordpress.com, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.