A double-degree student with majors in history and trumpet performance, junior track and field and cross country runner Leo Harrington is one busy guy.
 
Since his first day at Oberlin, Harrington has had a chaotic schedule, but that doesn't mean he hasn't loved every second of it.
 
While running with the team is certainly a large part of his overall Oberlin experience, he has other deeply-rooted interests as well, with music being his number one passion.
 
However, on March 2, 2013, he was able to do both. The 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Championships were on the same day as the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra concert he was scheduled to perform in later that day.
 
The track meet was held at The College of Wooster, and Harrington turned in a lifetime-best run of 8:56.15 to place fourth in the 3,000-meter run. The opportunity to both run and play on the same day would not have happened if it weren't for teammate Sean Bates, who drove him from the morning dress rehearsal for the concert to Wooster, then back again to Oberlin in time for the concert.
 
"As it happens, on that day I ran my best race of the season for a new personal record and played in one of the most satisfying concerts of my musical career."
 
With his academic schedule becoming more rigorous, Harrington is experiencing firsthand the need to sacrifice.
 
 "For a long time, I put off deciding how to cut back on what I'm doing, and the result is that for the first time, I won't be running track in the spring."
 
Instead, he will focus on preparing for his junior trumpet recital. It is a very important one for Harrington, who will also  be performing for the conservatory's third-year and final qualifying jury. Additionally, he will be taking two upper-level history seminars.
 
"I have no idea exactly how much I will miss the team and the experience of training with everyone, but I'm sure it will be quite a lot. Running is a meditative experience that I think is really necessary for me to get through a lot of days. Sharing that experience with people who know what the feeling is like - it's the best."
 
It is an understatement to say that Harrington has loved the time he's spent with the track and cross country teams. Not only does he love the competition, but he also enjoys the supportive communities that the track and cross country teams are.
 
"Regardless of how fast you run, socially you still feel like an incredibly valuable piece of the team, and you still have a support network you can draw on whenever you need to."
 
A year removed from earning All-NCAC Second Team honors and team Co-MVP honors in cross country, Harrington speaks from experience about the importance of team camaraderie as his 2013 cross country season was cut short due to injury.
 
 "The support is valuable to have, both when things are going well and when things aren't going the way you want them to. I am extremely grateful for that."
 
Throughout his first three years at Oberlin, he has done his best to take advantage of the variety of opportunities afforded to him. In addition to being a double-degree student and three-season athlete, Harrington has worked as an artist liaison for the Oberlin Artist Recital Series and has served as an academic ambassador and mentor for first-years.
 
After realizing an interest in German composers and music, Harrington decided to take the intensive introductory four-week German language course offered by the college during the 2012 winter term. He developed a fascination for the language and applied for and was awarded the German department's fellowship. That allowed him to study the language for four weeks in Berlin over the summer.
 
True to his nature, he spent an extra two weeks in Germany trying to take advantage of every opportunity the country could offer him. He visited the cities of Nürnberg, Bayreuth, Dresden, Leipzig, and Bremen, attended many concerts and took trumpet lessons from several different players.
 
"It was an amazing experience. Staying in hostels and meeting a really random assortment of travelers from around the world in similar situations was just really cool."
 
He also made sure to visit, among other places, Bach's St. Thomas Church and Wagner's opera house.
 
"Every consecutive year I've appreciated Bach more and more. I don't like playing the favorite composer game but his music is so incredibly inventive and energetic, vital, and beautiful. It was meaningful to see the spaces where he worked and imagine him three hundred years earlier conducting the choir I heard."
 
His travels aren't done yet, as he will be flying to Panama City this winter term to teach brass students and perform with select Oberlin Conservatory students as part of Oberlin's Panama Project.
 
"I can't wait for the trip. Some really amazing musical experiences in middle school and high school were what convinced me I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. Playing in an orchestra and building toward an epic climax of the piece or conjuring up the most incredibly beautiful, intimate moment is incomparable. I hope to pass on some of that passion."
 
Regardless of where his next few years take him, running competitively for Oberlin will remain close to his heart and central to his college experience.
 
"You have to be a little bit crazy and have a mean, competitive streak to be a distance runner. You have to fight through fatigue and convince yourself it is worth fighting for. I think at one point or another, anyone who is running competitively has had an incredible moment where they've had this sense of breaking through. It doesn't happen every race, but when it does happen, it's pretty magical. That's one of the reasons why we do it."

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