SPRING TERM IS HERE!

Spring term classes have finally started here on the hill. We will resume our regular postings this week! Please keep checking back for new posts and as always, feel free to read older posts and leave comments!

If you haven't seen it yet, the Dartmouth Admissions Office just launched it's new website, which you can find here.

Senior Spring Break Road Trip!

Three friends of mine and I decided to go on a road trip down the east coast. We left Hanover on the 17th and went to New York City and Washington DC for a few days. We are currently in Savannah, GA (if you come here, you MUST go to Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House for lunch; it is the best "southern" meal that I have had outside of the ones my family cooks) and are leaving for New Orleans tomorrow where we will end our trip and head back to Hanover for spring classes. It has been very nice to have easy access to the east coast from Hanover. I think that it is in large part what made this trip possible (well, that and the generosity of my friends' parents/Dartmouth alums for letting us stay with them)!

What we're doing for spring break...

So a few of us interns are doing Alternative Spring Break service trips. That's why we haven't been posting. I'm in Kentucky on a rural healthcare trip, Uthman is in San Franciso on a "Faith in Action Trip," and Nichole is in the Dominican Republic working with Haitian refugees. Check out what we're up to on our ASBs!! Will be back soon!

http://ourdartmouth.com

Spring has sprung!

Students are away on spring break right now. We'll be posting periodically about spring break adventures, and then we'll be back in full swing once classes resume in April.

NEW QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What is your most memorable moment at Dartmouth

The posts below respond to last week's question: What has been the highlight of your winter 2010 term?

Dartmouth Hockey -- Tennis Balls on the Rink

Here is video from a Dartmouth-Princeton game!

Dartmouth + Princeton + Hockey = Tennis Balls???

Like Harmony, the highlight of my winter term was going to my first Dartmouth hockey game. However, this wasn't just any hockey game...this was THE Princeton game. Here at Dartmouth we have a lot of traditions, and the Dartmouth-Princeton hockey game is one of them. When Dartmouth scores its first goal against Princeton we pelt the Princeton goalie with tennis balls! It may be sort of mean spirited, but its tradition--so it's okay!. Every year we get a delay of game charge because a crew has to clear off the ice. This year was even funnier than most because the first goal we scored didn't wind up counting so people threw all the tennis balls and then realized that the ref had taken away our point. When we did score again, another wave of tennis balls flooded the ice! We got two delay of game charges that game! It was amazing to see so many lime green tennis balls on the ice and to see the crews scrambling to get them up.

Now I can check this off of my list of traditions I've taken part in at Dartmouth. Check out picture and video from Princeton games!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN-zE3uGxUU

H*O*C*K*E*Y G*A*M*E

I'm ashamed to say that this term is the first time I've gone to a hockey game. What a big mistake! The game was absolutely SENSATIONAL. It was the Men's last home game and the seniors' last chance to skate for Dartmouth so they definitely came through and represented the Big Green. We came from behind to beat Cornell 5-4 in one of the most epic battles ever. Every time a hockey player got too close to the boards, I saw another player appear out of nowhere and basically make him eat glass...it was great! During the first two quarters, the Cornell goalie seemed invincible, almost like a brick wall that no one could break. However, the Dartmouth team pulled through with incredible skating, passing and scoring. My favorite part was feeling the energy and excitement in the stadium when we scored our last goal with a minute to go on the clock. For a breathtaking 60 seconds, we played some of the best defense I've ever seen. I also enjoyed eating hot dogs and cotton candy from the concession stand all evening - so wonderful.

Picture credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21827442@N07/4102365770/

Tumbling!

The highlight of my winter term was my tumbling gym class. I have always wanted to learn how to do flips and this gym class, offered only in the winter, was the perfect opportunity to learn to do so. The class is taught by the coach of the Dartmouth Gymnastics team, which no longer exists. While I was one of the only people that took the class that had no previous experience, by the end of the term I was able to do a front handspring, walk on my hands, one-handed cartwheels, and do forward and back extension rolls. It was so much fun getting credit for rolling around in the middle of the day!

Dartmouth undergrads have a gym requirement. Students must take 3 gym classes to graduate. These classes are mostly seasonal, but include average sports like tennis to things like ice fishing, meditations, and skeet shooting. There is something for everyone!

Getting the Internship of my Dreams

So I know its a little early to start thinking about summer, but I already am because I was able to accept an offer of a lifetime. Through Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), I am able to work with Teach for America (TFA) this summer which was the highlight of my winter term. Even though I will not be in the classroom, I will have the opportunity to see how TFA operates behind the scenes. I honestly believe that the combination of being able to take Education classes and participating in volunteer opportunities that work with middle school students allowed me to receive the internship. I was able to show SEO that I truly wanted to make a difference in and outside of the classroom.

Dartmouth offers a lot of opportunities to those who care about education. From its teacher certification program, to its work with bringing middle school students from inner city schools to Dartmouth for the summer, to its program for high school students in the local area to help prepare them to take their SATs, to its classes that focus on education policy. If you have the slightest inkling that you would like to do something in education, Dartmouth definitely has the opportunities for you to get hands on training.

To find out more about SEO, please visit this website: http://www.seo-usa.org/Home
To find out more about TFA, please visit this website: http://www.teachforamerica.org/
To find out more about a few of the volunteer opportunities geared towards education that Dartmouth has to offer, please visit this website: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~tucker/dcs/school/

SKIING THE NORTHEAST

So I know I am from the Northeast, but the highlight of my winter term has been skiing as much as possible, both at the Dartmouth Skiway and traveling up north with friends to Stowe, VT. It's great to have the Skiway so close for those quick doses of skiing, but also nice to go on a bit of a road trip with friends up to one of the best ski mountains in New England. Whether or not you know how to ski before coming to Dartmouth, you will almost certainly get out on the slopes at least a few times, and chances are, end up loving it. Oh and it helps that all of the local ski areas have student discounts...use them while you can!

Picture credit: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/4272949472_1de1b6d1e4_o.jpg

Just a normal plane ride right?

So here is one tip I always jokingly tell prospective students whenever I discuss the alumni network at Dartmouth: never wear Dartmouth gear at the airport if you don't feel like talking to anyone about Dartmouth or if you know you will be running late for your plane flight.

Any time I wear Dartmouth gear at the airport, I am very likely to bump into someone who has attended Dartmouth before and wants to know all about how my experience is at their alma mater. I was actually almost late for my flight because an alumnus wanted to stop and talk to me about how Dartmouth was going.

The most recent experience I have had with alumni in airports was actually on my trip back to Dartmouth after my winter break. I meet a young alumnus, an '02, who is working in Washington, DC. We were actually sitting across from each other and she noticed my Dartmouth gear. We ended up chatting for a long while about how things were different, what were the same, how she loved her experience, what I should do with the rest of my time at Dartmouth and much more.

Even though this is just one experience with one alumnus, I really believe that all Dartmouth alumni act a like, the moment they see you, they want to talk, share expierences, exchange their card with you and keep in contact.The alumnus I met on the plan is now my Facebook friend for instance. I believe that Dartmouth alumni definitely want to make sure that they keep up a connection between them and current Dartmouth students. Which is what makes Dartmouth alumni amazing people who you want to get to meet!

Our Alums

I decided on Dartmouth because people had spoken so highly of our alumni, and after being here just one year I couldn't agree more. Our alums are some of the most loyal alumni in the world and are proud and supportive of Dartmouth long after their graduations.

One of the most useful and rewarding resources here is the Vox Alumni Network, a database of alumni who have indicated that they are willing to offer career advice and other valuable help. Any Dartmouth student or graduate can access the database, and it has records of alumni in virtually every state and country in the world.

Last summer I participated on the Beijing FSP. While there, I decided to call some of the alumni listed under "Beijing;" I ended up meeting four alums and got some great advice on how to pursue my academic and career goals. Next term, I am interning at a trading firm in China. How did I get connected to the job opportunity? Through a Dartmouth alum I met in Beijing.

I've found our alumni to be fiercely loyal, extremely outgoing, and highly accomplished--plus, they are always happy to chat about Dartmouth and are remarkably abreast of campus issues. The alumni: easily one of the best aspects of Dartmouth College.

I'm a senior...

...and as a senior, I now count myself a member of a larger group of my peers: the job-seekers.

Seriously, though, I think that the alumni network is probably one of Dartmouth's greatest assets. Having been able to interact with alumni during my time here, I now know why that is: Dartmouth alumni are insanely passionate about Dartmouth. For whatever reason, Dartmouth seems to graduate people who are so in love with their alma mater, so passionate about their experiences there, that they will literally bend over backwards to help out a fellow member of the Dartmouth community. In my case, I was fortunate enough to connect with an alum who lives in New England, and has practiced environmental law, the area of law that most interests me. All it took was a simple phone call, and this alum provided me with a huge list of Dartmouth and non-Dartmouth contacts through which I am hoping to both gather advice and hopefully a job offer or two. And we have never actually met!

We will see where life takes me after I graduate this June, but I feel confident that no matter where I go, I will be bringing that Dartmouth network with me.

Photo courtesy of the Dartmouth flickr photostream.

My second family....

Being a part of the Dartmouth Alumni Network is definitely like having a second family. It's really starting to sink in for me how big and useful the network is. As a junior I'm starting to travel to on-site interviews for internships and jobs and it's so nice to be able to get on Facebook, see which 08 and 09 alums are in Boston or New York and have them offer to let you crash at their place for the night or get a bite to eat when you are in town. All of a sudden the people who were seniors when you were an upperclassman have great jobs or are in grad school and they are a GREAT resource. I know that I even have a network of friends who haven't yet graduated but are taking their off-terms (through the D-Plan) in DC, New York, LA, ATL, and I can hit them up if I'm there. It's like you know someone any and everywhere!

This past fall I had a special experience with a Dartmouth alumna named Ricki Fairley-Brown, '78. I worked for her at a multicultural marketing agency called IMAGES USA where she is partner and CMO. I had always wanted to learn about marketing even though it has nothing to do with anything I'm doing at Dartmouth. Ricki is always looking for a Dartmouth intern and gives us preference over other students. She let me get in on substantive and cool projects, like meeting with NBA star Dikembe Mutombo to ask about the best way to pitch the agency to the Orlando Magic. She also fed me A LOT!!! I had an amazing time and I now have an IMAGES Family in Atlanta. Check out Ricki, Simon (a Dartmouth '08, former IMAGES intern turned full-timer), and me goofing around on my last day!