3D Magazine :: 2017 NOV

DARTMOUTH IN ALL ITS DIMENSIONS NO. 1 | NOV 2017

ADMISSIONS.DARTMOUTH.EDU

What is this thing called 3D? On the cover: Sera Tuz ’19 is an Engineering Sciences major from Dallas, Texas.

She was photographed in her favorite spot on campus: “You can just take in the sheer beauty of the town we get to live in. It’s a perfect little sanctuary and always calms me down.”

Cover photograph by Don Hamerman

Dartmouth College is defined by its people, and 3D is a magazine that tells their stories. It’s not meant to be comprehensive but an evolving snapshot, as vibrant and prismatic as the school itself. 3D is Dartmouth in all its dimensions.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ELI BURAKIAN ’00

NOVEMBER 2017 // ISSUE 01

02

10

24

38

First Hand

LIVE @ Dartmouth

Walking the Walk

Onward & Upward

03

12

28

45

It’s a Fact

Every Shade of Green

Facts of Life

Courses of Study

06

18

32

46

Hanover Hot Spots

(Re) cycle: Dartmouth Bikes

Oh, the places you’ll go!

Points of Departure

07

22

36

48

Humans of Hanover

Institute of Arctic Studies

On Course

Threads

2 | admissions.dartmouth.edu

Lee A. Coffin Vice Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT GILL

“There’s a remarkable amount of green in the Big Green.”

We named our new admissions magazine 3D because it celebrates Dartmouth in all its dimensions. In the spirit of 3-D phenomena, this magazine debuts as an opportunity to bring a deeper perception to your evolving appreciation of this venerable college in the hills of New Hampshire.

Dartmouth is a close-knit campus framed by nature, a dynamic fusion of a liberal arts college and a research university with a profound sense of place as well as a clear sense of purpose that is informed by our surroundings.

Dartmouth is a place with an entrepreneurial spirit, a place where ideas are born and tested. It’s a place where smart people with an optimistic and collaborative impulse wrestle with the big challenges we face. It’s a place where faculty and students use their intellect and creativity to seek solutions. It’s a lively place.

It’s a stunningly beautiful place. It’s an open, inclusive place that’s insanely, intensely loved by those who call it home.

Each issue will highlight the programs, people, and personality that frame our identity. Think of the following profiles of students, faculty, and alumni as conversations. 3D introduces you to an array of interesting people we’d like you to meet and, ideally, join for a dynamic undergraduate adventure.

This inaugural issue of 3D explores the environmental dimension of Dartmouth, a multifaceted feature sparked by a simple query from a member of the Class of 2021. She asked, “What other Ivy is so connected to nature?” It’s true. It’s a physical as well as an intellectual connection — from the mountains and river that surround us to the faculty research on climate change and arctic studies to our student-run bicycle recycling initiative to the hands-on opportunities at our very own organic farm. There’s a remarkable amount of green in the Big Green: the first volume of 3D spotlights this essential part of Dartmouth’s identity.

But a green signature is only one of Dartmouth’s many dimensions, and future issues will celebrate other topics as well.

As a lobsterwoman from Cape Cod mused in her application, “Dartmouth is the airport with the most runways with direct flights to the destinations I’d care to reach, carrying interesting passengers and piloted by world class aviators …” It’s a great metaphor that speaks to the depth and breadth of our liberal arts curriculum as well the vitality and curiosity of the faculty and peers who will share this journey with you, in Hanover and around the world, now and forever.

Capturing the personality — the vibe — of such a community is a slippery proposition. Making that a 3-D experience is even harder. I think this inaugural issue of 3D accomplishes that task.

It’s a fact.

BASIC FACTS

4,310 % 97 % 100

CLASS OF 2021 STATS

Number of Undergraduate Students 6-Year Graduation Rate Demonstrated Financial Need Met

Region of Origin

48

US States Represented

44

10% / Midwest

21% / Mid-Atlantic

21% / New England

21% / West

16% / South

11% / Outside the US

Countries Represented

31

Languages Spoken at Home

5 355

Fall Term Classes with More Than 100 Students

Type of School Attended

10

vs.

Fall Term Classes with Fewer Than 20 Students

58

30

%

12%

INDEPENDENT

7:1

13

%

Student-toFaculty Ratio

US Military Veterans

%

First Generation to College

PUBLIC

RELIGIOUS

10.4

%

Acceptance Rate

46

%

49K

$

Receiving Need-Based Aid

Average Need-Based Grant

THAYER SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING FACTS

52

%

Bachelor’s Degrees in Engineering Awarded to Women in 2016

38%

Tenure-Track Faculty with Startups

33%

Tenure-Track Faculty with Patents

Research in Three Broad Areas

Engineering in Medicine

98 AB Degrees 113 BE Degrees 53 Core Faculty

Energy Technologies

Complex Systems

AB degrees include a major in engineering sciences.

BE degrees include nine extra engineering courses for an ABET accredited degree. While the nine extra courses are intended for a fifth year of study, many students don’t need a full fifth year to complete the requirements.

admissions.dartmouth.edu | 3

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

LAWRENCE ABU-HAMMOUR ’19 MAJOR: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING + US HISTORY MODIFIED WITH ARABIC HOMETOWN: BRONX, NEW YORK

Where history, Arabic, and roller coasters meet

Lawrence Abu-Hammour has a way of turning incongruities into rhyming couplets. Part Jordanian and part Filipino, he is in his junior year balancing a double major — mechanical engineering and US history modified with Arabic.

Wait. US history modified with Arabic? Lawrence will tell you that Thomas Jefferson referenced the Qur’an when he worked on the Declaration of Independence and that “all men are created equal” is pretty much a quote from it. Backstory: Jefferson was studying Arabic in preparation for negotiating with the sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

“Slaves brought over to this country from northern and western Africa were Muslim and had to assimilate into Christianity.

The study of that experience,” Lawrence says, “is illuminating on many levels — from the origins of Islam in the United States to the roots of the black experience.”

As jazzed as Lawrence is about history, he can tell you with equal animation and precision what makes an unforgettable roller coaster. His dream job is to design coasters for Walt Disney Engineering. “As a child, I never had the courage to ride one,” he laughs, “but that wasn’t the attraction. Traveling at 90 mph, climbing 400 feet, then dropping 300 feet, roller coasters are amazing feats of engineering. When I toured the machine shop at Thayer School of Engineering during my first visit to campus, it was love at first sight.”

Building support systems for engineers Lawrence’s dedication to engineering extends to fervent support of the students striving to become engineers. Head TA at the machine shop, he also tutors in math and engineering and mentors students in the Dartmouth Emerging Engineers Program. But academics should never preclude fun, he maintains, and he is careful to set aside time for fencing, an informal a cappella group, weekly Arabic Department tea breaks, and the social activities of his gender-inclusive Greek house Alpha Theta.

For Lawrence, living in a diverse environment is essential. “I am a Muslim Filipino, which is a rarity, but growing up in the Bronx, I was used to a highly diverse community. I was excited to find that Dartmouth is a very vibrant quilt. Everybody here is extraordinary in some way. There’s no ‘typical’ to compare yourself against. Our curiosity and our humanity are what bind us. We connect to one another with open hearts.”

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HANOVER

MORANO GELATO, 57 South Main Street You don’t have to study abroad in Milan to get your hands on some authentic gelato — you can just walk down Main Street in Hanover. Morgan Morano, an Upper Valley native, founded Morano Gelato to fulfill her long-time dream of opening a dessert-related business — and she puts authenticity first. After spending six years living off and on in Italy and learning from a Sicilian gelato chef, she imported her first gelato machine from Northern Italy — and the business hasn’t stopped growing since. Now you can get one (or two, or three …) of 12–16 flavors all made daily on site.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KATIE NOBLE

HOT SPOTS

HUMANS OF HANOVER ^ DARTMOUTH IS DEFINED BY ITS PEOPLE — SO WE DECIDED TO INTRODUCE YOU TO DARTMOUTH THROUGH THEM. THIS ISSUE WE’VE CHOSEN SIX FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS TO REFLECT ON THEIR OPENING IMPRESSIONS OF LIFE IN HANOVER.

Tehut Biru ‘21, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Carlos Polanco ‘21, Clifton, NJ

Delilah Forrest ‘21, Cardiff by the Sea, CA

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SARA D. MORIN

“Every day I feel like I know more at lunchtime than in the “As soon as I stepped off the bus to campus, I had this “Math has always been my favorite subject, so I am really morning. I’ve especially enjoyed meeting other interna- giddy feeling that I’d found home. The environment here looking forward to finding math-related research opportional students and engaging in cross cultural dialogue is much different than my hometown. I live pretty close tunities to fuel my interest in the subject. The Byrne with them about their experiences and home countries. to New York City so I’d never really been able to see the Scholar Program, which I was honored to be selected To me, these conversations about personal experience stars. During my First Year Trip I saw the Milky Way gal- for, will definitely make that easier! So far the group of are so much more powerful than the facts that are fre- axy for the first time and it was stunning. fellow Byrne Scholars has been a very kind and helpful quently stated in the newspaper and in the media.” community. ”

Chris Lyke ‘21, Ripon, WI “Not only does Dartmouth have a top-notch engineering program, but it allows students to weave the liberal arts curriculum into their courses. I’m also a pretty outdoorsy person, so the nearby hikes and the student run Outing Club were a huge draw for me.”

Emily Minsky ’21, West Palm Beach, FL

Odalis Hernandez ‘21, Wauchula, FL

“So far, my favorite part of Dartmouth has been the level “My favorite memory so far has been my First Year Trip. I of intellectual discourse around campus. This term, I’m am not an outdoorsy or athletic person so the hike was taking a humanities course where we read classic texts. the most strenuous thing I’ve ever done. Nevertheless, I love books, and it is refreshing to be in an environment I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. It allowed me to with other people who love the material as much as I do.” bond with my classmates and was such a welcoming environment.”

admissions.dartmouth.edu | 7

CHRISTINA ROMBAUT ’20 MAJOR: UNDECIDED HOMETOWN: ROTHESAY, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA

“Beep.”

Christina Rombaut’s second season as a member of the Dartmouth women’s ice hockey team begins with a beep, and without skates.

It’s a fitness test that has her running back and forth across 20 meters. As the time between each beep decreases, she keeps accelerating. Christina’s performance today represents an improvement over last year. “That was great,” she says, an hour or so later. “That’s really what we’re trying to do, just keep improving day to day and year to year.”

After visiting Dartmouth as a senior in high school, Christina knew she had found a new home. Fast forward a year and she arrived in Hanover both excited for her Dartmouth experience and uncertain about one important part of it: the coach who had recruited her had retired.

Enter Laura Schuler.

Schuler’s resume as the head coach of the Canadian Olympic hockey team and a silver medalist on the Canadian team from the 1998 Nagano Olympics was impressive, but also intimidating. “I was pretty nervous when we first met,” says Christina. “But then right away she was super nice. And it was obvious that she knew a ton about hockey. And it was clear she was so excited and so ready to coach us.”

There were a lot of highlights in that first season. What she doesn’t mention — the fact that she appeared in all 28 of the team’s games, was second on the team in both goals scored and points, and was recognized as the team’s rookie of the year — is as telling as what she does, specifically the way she highlights an off-ice, team-building exercise: “We were up to our necks in cold water in this lake miles off campus for what seemed like forever.

And Coach Schuler was right in there with us. I don’t think many coaches would do that. That sort of thing plays into the hockey, and into the team.”

One of the first things visitors notice upon entering Thompson Arena at Dartmouth are the banners hung around the perimeter of the rink. Many of those banners celebrate Dartmouth alumnae who have played — and won gold — for the Canadian Olympic team.

“That would be my biggest dream, playing for team Canada,” says Christina. “I’d love to do that, and I’m going to keep working hard to improve. But really I want to improve for Dartmouth. I’m trying to get better for my teammates.”

8 | admissions.dartmouth.edu

Goal

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Oriented

LIVE @ DARTMOUTH

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT C. STRONG II ’04

[e]motion-charged master class with Kyle Abraham

Picture this: you’re seated on a dark stage, in complete silence. A dancer appears, her movement intimate and emotional, signaling love and loss. The silence continues, but you put your earphones in to add a rich, musical element.

Dartmouth students were able to enjoy this experience in Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center for the Arts (affectionately known as “the Hop” on campus).

The dancer? Part of Kyle Abraham’s dance company, Abraham.In.Motion.

Abraham, the artistic director, won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2013 — only one of his many accolades. The music? Composed by Jerome Begin, a faculty member at The Juilliard School, whose many accomplishments include a televised performance of his score at the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors. The show? Dearest Home, a deeply personal exploration of love, loss, and longing inspired by Abraham’s own relationships and by community workshops from across the United States.

One of these workshops happened at the Hop last summer, when fellows from a visiting program on campus and members of the Upper Valley community had the opportunity to share their experiences of love and loss with Abraham. Abraham took inspiration from the group exercises, which included group discussions, the writing of love letters, guided meditations, and the making of collages. He returned to Dartmouth to premiere Dearest Home in its proscenium version, a piece commissioned by the College, and maintained its intimate, personal feel by including a portion of the audience on stage and giving them the option of listening to the score via individual headsets.

In keeping with the personalized nature of the show, and the Dartmouth tradition of having distinguished guests work with students and community members in small groups, Abraham also taught a master class on campus.

He led Dartmouth students and Upper Valley community members in warmups incorporating breathing and yoga techniques, and then moved on to helping students through combinations of movements. Most importantly, he was able to share his considerable experience and perspective on style and movement with the class.

admissions.dartmouth.edu | 11

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DON HAMERMAN

Invention on the Sustainability Frontier admissions.dartmouth.edu | 13

tour of Dartmouth’s Organic Farm is an object lesson in what you can build into 220 acres when you respect and nurture the natural environment.

In addition to producing 2,000+ pounds of fresh organic produce per year, the Dartmouth Organic Farm supports multiple scientific research projects as well as undergraduate courses in biology, education, engineering, environmental studies, geography, and religion. Alongside those agricultural and scholarly pursuits, the Dartmouth Outdoor Programs Office sponsors farm-based activities for every taste and season, including hiking, tracking, fishing, paddling, biking, and cross-country skiing.

Informal trails and wooded roads offer serene walks, picnicking, or a “forest succession” hike to the top of Oak Hill.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DON HAMERMAN; AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH BY ELI BURAKIAN ’ 00

What the farm is teaching us Much of the coursework undertaken at the site involves primary research activities, and students often spend 25 percent or more of their class time in the field. In an Ecological Agriculture course taught by Visiting Assistant Professor Selena Ahmed, for example, on-farm tomato crop cultivation and experimental plots helped to link agricultural strategies to the workings of the broader food system. Ahmed’s students also collaborated with the Dartmouth farm program manager and regional farmers to identify barriers and opportunities associated with agroecological management practices.

On another front, Anne Kapuscinski, the inaugural Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Sustainability Science, is tackling aquaculture challenges facing the seafood industry. Students in a recent Ecological Agriculture course worked in Kapuscinski’s farm-based fish laboratory to explore the use of naturally occurring microalgae to feed commercially raised fish. Kapuscinski hopes to soon produce microalgae in her lab, a breakthrough that could revolutionize sustainable aquaculture.

Equal parts sustainable business, regional health initiative, and community nexus In 2015, Farm Manager Laura Carpenter pioneered an innovative food distribution model known as “one third, one third, one third.” This approach directs one third of the food grown on the farm to revenue-generating customers such as the Dartmouth Dining Services Farm Stand and the campus food truck.

Another third of the farm’s produce is delivered to FARMacy, a joint venture of the Geisel School of Medicine, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Care Policy and Clinical Practice, regional advocacy nonprofit ReThink Health, and the Claremont Soup Kitchen. FARMacy clients receive weekly community supported agriculture grocery bags and participate in cooking classes that help them manage food-related illnesses. The farm’s last third is used to feed volunteers and community members at on-farm events — pizza-oven dinners, campfires, crepe-making workshops, and open houses.

admissions.dartmouth.edu | 15

ERICH OSTERBERG ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES; OSTERBERG LAB FOR ICE, CLIMATE, AND POLLUTION; DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES

Truth be told, you are something of an action-adventure junkie when it comes to climate science.

In my lab, we’re investigating the causes of climate change, tracking how fast the glaciers are melting, and looking at the sources and impact of air pollution. This necessarily takes us to the places in the world where we can find illuminating evidence of climate change, whether that’s Greenland, Antarctica, or the Canadian Rockies. Our Earth Sciences roving field program is a geological road trip across the western United States and Canada over each fall term. Students and faculty pile into vans and make their way from one significant geological site to the next. Professors with specific expertise about that site or discipline fly in to lead each research segment.

What’s the most amazing sight you have seen in the course of your fieldwork?

In 2012, I was camping with a small team of faculty and student researchers on the edge of an ice sheet in northwestern Greenland.

It was the warmest summer Greenland had seen in centuries. We set up camp about 10 kilometers away from the edge of the glacier, where we’d passed a large glacial lake filled to the brim.

Overnight, the guards on polar bear watch were troubled by the urgent noise of rushing water. Next morning we discovered that the lake — a mile in circumference — had disappeared. It had drained through the glacier into the ocean, collapsing the glacier.

The experience brought home how quickly conditions are changing in the Arctic. That lake has been there for at least 70 years, probably for centuries. This was a distressing symbol of the impact of rising temperatures, but it was incredible that we just happened to be present. It was mind-boggling — and an extraordinary experience for the students who were working with us.

So students are heavily involved in your research?

Given the urgency to understand and mitigate climate change, training the next generation of polar scientists is as important to us as our research. Dartmouth students can be involved in hands-on research from the moment they walk in the door as first-years. They begin by working closely with faculty, then often develop their own interests that spin off from our larger projects.

Undergrads can even do their own field research around the world, building to graduate-level projects by senior year.

If you could be stuck in an elevator with one book, what would it be?

Elevator Repair for Dummies. Hey, I’m a scientist. I want to fix it!

16 | admissions.dartmouth.edu

The Gla

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

cier Chasers

PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES

(Re)

SUMMER TERM

5 100+ POP-UP BIKE SHOPS

BIKES REPAIRED

cycle PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT GILL

Dartmouth Bikes Gives Abandoned Cycles a Second Wind

Dartmouth is the kind of campus that begs to be biked. The endless paved pathways that meander through expanses of lawn and forest are a cyclist’s nirvana. It’s also a practical choice on a campus that stretches into the countryside to encompass an organic farm, a pond, a river, a mountain, and a horseback-riding center. Thanks to Dartmouth Bikes, all students on campus now have the opportunity to join the campus bicycle brigade.

The student-run program, part of the robust and multipronged Dartmouth Sustainability Office, collects and refurbishes abandoned bicycles and rents or sells them at very reasonable costs to members of the campus community.

The project is a win-win from a low-carbon, high-exercise perspective. And it gives students on a budget the opportunity to get their hands on a form of affordable, flexible transportation.

But the bike-recycling program has another great benefit. It addresses the issue of abandoned bicycles left rusting in racks by graduating students who might be moving to Singapore or São Paulo and are not able to take their wheels along for the ride. If the 100 or so bikes discarded every year weren’t refurbished, they would end up in landfills. “It’s good doing something that has impact,” says Dartmouth Bikes codirector Ryder Stone ’18.

Rescuing orphans To determine whether a bike is actually orphaned, Dartmouth Bikes dispatches students to track the bikes parked in racks across campus, tagging

those that don’t seem to move or clearly have problems that make them immobile. Through the bike registration program on campus, the staff reaches out to those who own wheels about to be adopted into the program. They even offer to fix the bike and give it a tune-up if the owners are still interested. Often, however, they find the wheels have simply been left behind. A recent pick-up from bike racks across campus yielded an even dozen of cycles deemed abandoned. Culling the racks of discards also frees up parking spaces for active bikes.

Launched in 2011, Dartmouth Bikes makes it easy to cycle on campus.

The organization offers regular bike clinics outside its basement repair shop in Fahey-McLane Hall, where dozens of riders show up to get quick, affordable repairs — only five dollars per half hour of labor. And with pop-up bike shops across campus (PUBS), the crew brings routine maintenance to the community, making it possible for riders to get help diagnosing a mechanical conundrum or a quick brake adjustment between classes. The students working the PUBS also make a point to show bike owners how to maintain their bikes and make routine fixes. Regular maintenance customers include President Phil Hanlon ’77 and his wife Gail Gentes.

For those who don’t want to have to store their bicycles, Dartmouth also offers Zagster, a bike-sharing program that includes Bluetooth-enabled ring locks and a handy app. With all this bike-friendly activity on campus, the League of American Bicyclists recently designated Dartmouth a bicycle-friendly university.

admissions.dartmouth.edu | 19

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Glaciers Have Long St

MEREDITH KELLY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF EARTH SCIENCE

It seems like you and your students are always traversing the globe, from Greenland to Peru to Uganda.

Well, we go where the glaciers are. We’re working to unearth knowledge of past changes in climate over the centuries to advance our understanding of the mechanisms that are causing climate change today. One key to that knowledge is glaciers.

Glaciers have been around for millennia but are shrinking because of warming temperatures. My own work is to figure out how their size has changed in the past and when these changes happened so that we can track times of warming and cooling.

ories to Tell

Wait a minute, glaciers in Uganda?

You bet. My students and I are studying tropical glaciers in the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda. It’s an unusual place. At 16,000+ feet in eastern equatorial Africa, the mountains are glaciated and look a lot like the Swiss Alps, but they are covered with tropical vegetation and inhabited by wildlife such as forest elephants. We meet up with a team of experienced guides and porters at a tiny village a six-hour drive from the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

Together, we form a tight-knit community, moving and working as one throughout the mountains. Both undergraduate and graduate students have participated in these expeditions and have conducted their own significant research projects.

Tell me something I don’t know about climate change.

Well … while many people know that El Niño causes regional climate effects, these events can influence warming of the entire planet by nearly 1°C. This tells us that events in the tropics can significantly influence global climate conditions.

Do you miss these exotic locales when you’re back at Dartmouth?

No. Dartmouth is pretty exotic itself. Occom Pond, for example.

It’s the most serene spot you can imagine. People go running around it, and skate on it in winter. My three-year-old loves it — especially the marshmallows they roast over the fire provided by the Dartmouth Outing Club on the edge of the pond. And not to be outdone by Ugandan glaciers, we’ve recently extracted sediments from below Occom and discovered that they date back 13,000 years. Oh the tales those sediments tell!

You’re stuck in an elevator. What book do you want to be able to pull out of your bag?

South: The Endurance Expedition by Ernest Shackleton, which catalogued his pioneering trip to Antarctica. It never fails to remind me that whatever the conditions I’m experiencing in the field, Shackleton had it worse.

admissions.dartmouth.edu | 21

Climate change has caused polar bears to choose villages over traditional hunting grounds.

ILLUSTRATION BY SHOUT (ALESSANDRO GOTTARDO)

Why are polar bears coming to town?

While doing fieldwork in Denali, Alaska, Patrick Saylor ’17 missed graduation in Hanover, so Professor Erich Osterberg staged a remote ceremony on the glacier.

INSTITUTE OF ARCTIC STUDIES

Dartmouth Explorers Plumb the Earth’s Extremes in Search of Answers

PHOTOGRAPH BY KEVIN GROSS ’19

Maybe it’s Dartmouth’s powerful sense of place, its compelling natural environment, or the signature inquisitiveness of its community, but the history of the college is heavily populated with famous explorers. John Ledyard kicked things off in the 18th century with his chronicle of the final voyage of Captain Cook. Renowned Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson carried the tradition into the 20th century with his pioneering research, scholarship, and founding of Dartmouth’s Northern and Polar Studies Program.

Explorer Evelyn Stefansson Nef, an international authority on the Far North, generously endowed the Institute of Arctic Studies to continue Dartmouth’s legacy. Founded in 1989, the Institute is building upon Dartmouth’s prodigious archive of research and scholarship with a wide-ranging series of academic programs and field experiences to inform the very future of our planet and unravel truths about climate change.

Ecosystem ecologist Ross Virginia, Myers Family Professor of Environmental Science and director of the Institute, is handily filling the boots of those great Dartmouth explorers. Virginia just completed a 27-year research project in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica that focused on how climate change alters plant-soil interactions and the ecology, biodiversity, and functioning of soils.

He’s also been tracking a few species of roundworms and their response to climate change. Virginia and his team have been monitoring changes in the life cycle of these organisms since 1989, when the Institute was founded.

Visiting—and revisiting—the driest place on earth Every December for a generation, Virginia has left behind the hubbub of the Dartmouth campus for a six-week stay at the bottom of the Earth. More specifically, he’s been heading to the Virginia Valley of Antarctica, named in his honor to commemorate his decades of research on the ecosystems of the continent’s dry valleys, the coldest and driest location on Earth. What has he learned from dozens of arduous trips? That the short-lived extreme events that are associated with climate change can have long-term effects on the ecosystem that are actually greater than the slow-moving accumulative changes coming from climate change.

Postdoctoral Fellow and Outreach Coordinator Lauren Culler also has uncovered a new climate change impact — the rise of the mosquito. Because so few animals exist in the Arctic that are of interest to mosquitos, when the insects find a red-blooded creature, they are dogged and ferocious. Worse still, the mosquitos — a threat to caribou as well as people — are emerging earlier, growing bigger, and living longer.

Preparing new generations of explorers The Institute of Arctic Studies is a leader in interdisciplinary polar studies and supports courses that investigate rapid environmental change. Research extends from the classrooms of Hanover to the polar ice fields of Antarctica and encompasses undergraduate and graduate courses, research fellowships, science communication, and outreach activities. Students recently created a series of climate-change videos that probe such questions as why polar bears are venturing away from their traditional hunting grounds and into Arctic communities.

The Institute supports a graduate program in polar environmental change that is preparing a new generation of scientists, engineers, and policymakers to understand and communicate the importance of polar regions and global ecosystems. Thanks to a major grant from the National Science Foundation, the Institute also has created a PhD curriculum in polar environmental change that focuses on polar science, engineering, and the human dimensions of environmental change.

In addition, the Institute of Arctic Studies operates two NSF-funded programs that give high school students the opportunity to travel to polar regions and participate in hands-on research activities. The Joint Science Education Project (JSEP) takes these young explorers to Greenland, while the Joint Antarctic School Expedition (JASE) takes them to Antarctica.

admissions.dartmouth.edu | 23

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

MATT H EW GO FF

Walking the Walk MATTHEW GOFF ’18 IS A NEUROSCIENCE MAJOR AND ANTHROPOLOGY OF GLOBAL HEALTH MINOR. LAST YEAR, AT DARTMOUTH’S ON-CAMPUS OPEN HOUSE PROGRAM, HE SPOKE TO ADMITTED STUDENTS IN RESPONSE TO ONE OF LAST YEAR’S ESSAY QUESTIONS, THEMED AROUND “OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO.” HERE’S AN EDITED VERSION OF HIS SPEECH.

Before coming to Dartmouth, I excelled at compartmentalizing different parts of myself. I knew what each compartment entailed and where the line for one compartment ended and the next one began. The cellist compartment meant orchestra rehearsals on Sundays, chamber music on Mondays, lessons on Tuesdays, and a performance sprinkled here and there. The hockey player compartment meant early morning practice, games on Wednesday and Saturday nights, and an occasional broken bone or two.

When I first arrived at Dartmouth, I thought my life would continue with a similar structure. Neuroscience particularly piqued my curiosity, and I confidently announced myself along with many of my peers as “pre-med.” In many ways, I thought college would mean picking up where I left off in high school and continuing with what I was accustomed to doing.

However, when it came time to choose classes at the beginning of the fall, I felt lost in the hundreds of options. I went to my undergraduate dean, and she listened to me, helped me pinpoint some of the things I was interested in, and suggested I take an anthropology class. I had never heard of anthropology before, but I went ahead and signed up for the class and soon discovered a new subject I didn’t even know I was passionate about. (For anyone who doesn’t know what anthropology is, it’s the study of human societies and cultures and their development. For me, it has been the study of what makes us human — unique as a species, vastly diverse, yet still able to relate to one another.)

Fast forward to the end of my first year, and I was doing different things than I had in high school — I performed in an a cappella group, joined the triathlon team, and studied subjects that had never previously crossed my mind, such as how health systems around the world impact people’s access to healthcare. As my time became more and more divided between different activities, I started wondering whether I was just back to my old ways of compartmentalizing parts of myself.

My moment of realization came when I attended a “Music and Medicine” talk given by a visiting pediatrician. As I listened to her talk about how music had shaped and influenced her perspective throughout her medical career, I could almost tangibly see my interests line up in front of me. From the physical and biological ways in which music interacts with the brain, to the unifying ability of music to break down social barriers, I began to see my studies merged together in a unique way that I had never seen before.

Now, the intersection of medicine, music, neuroscience, and anthropology has become the overarching focus of my senior year studies. This brings me to my point: what you do in high school will not necessarily map directly onto what you will do in college. At Dartmouth, you won’t just pick up where you left off in high school, but you will learn to blend old and new skills in ways you haven’t yet imagined.

Indicates location on the Dartmouth Green where Matthew is standing.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Building an Enduring Peace

ARTHUR MENSAH ’19 MAJOR: PSYCHOLOGY + RELIGION HOMETOWN: PAYNESVILLE, LIBERIA

PTSD — post-traumatic stress disorder — is most commonly associated with soldiers returning from war, but Arthur Mensah ’19 believes that the trauma of civilian victims of violent conflict is often overlooked. The Liberian native has seen the scars inflicted upon the members of his community by two bitter civil wars that have raged on and off since 1989.

Just back from an internship in Liberia with the Gbowee Peace Foundation, Arthur says that despite extensive incidence of PTSD, Liberians generally do not have access to psychological support. With his joint major in psychology and religion, Arthur is intent on building the skills to address that challenge. The joint disciplines, he feels, combine to address both the spiritual and the physical manifestations of PTSD. From his internship with the New York City Rescue Mission to his work with Last Mile Health and Gbowee in Liberia, Arthur has been expanding his knowledge on the issues that are most pressing to Liberians. One of his driving interests is the education of women, which he considers key to advancing sustainable solutions. This summer, he traveled across Liberia distributing backpacks with school supplies to promising students. “It was life-changing to talk with people in impoverished neighborhoods and see the joy on their faces when opportunity suddenly opened.

Some mothers said, ‘I was wondering how I could possibly buy school supplies for my child.’ ” Peace through fellowship Arthur also spent a significant part of his summer involved in peace-building issues in an effort to thwart the divisions that are straining the country’s resources and wellbeing. He volunteered at a camp that brought together children from the two ethnic groups that have been at odds. “The children talked with one another about the stresses they faced. They could see that, while on opposite sides of the feud, they had a shared trauma.”

Midway through a double major, Arthur’s days at Dartmouth are full, but he makes time to play a leadership role in Dartmouth’s chapter of the Ivy League’s Christian Union. He also enjoys listening to Nigerian music, playing pool with friends, and just reveling in the people he meets across campus. “I like interacting with people different from myself — not just teachers and students, but the food service workers and carpenters. Through these conversations, I have come to realize that my perspective is not the right perspective. It’s just my perspective.”

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Soft purple curtains that make my room feel homey.

Plant the college gave me for my first-year room still going strong.

RESIDENT: ISABELLE STRONG ’19 HOMETOWN: STOWE, VERMONT MAJOR: LINGUISTICS WITH DOUBLE MINOR IN ENGLISH AND EDUCATION

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Tiny wooden bear carved by my dad.

Facts of

RESIDENCE HALL: I’ve lived in North Massachusetts Hall for the last four terms. It was built in 1912, and it’s homey, close to the Green, and convenient to the best food on campus. I’ve had so many great conversations in the hallways with old and new friends on the way to and from my room.

FAVORITE POSSESSION: The little wood carvings

CAREER GOAL: Speech pathologist. When I came

my dad made for me. If you squint, you might be able to spot the little bear standing in front of my photos and the wooden spoon that sits on top of that stack of books.

to Dartmouth, I was certain I would be an English major, minor in education, and get a teaching certificate. Then I took linguistics and it changed everything. I would love to work with children or with stroke patients and help them develop their communication skills.

WHO’S PICTURED: Let’s see, my family, of course, OUT THE WINDOW: Tall trees, the seasons, and

Hitchcock Hall.

friends from high school, my pre-orientation hiking trip at Dartmouth, and my foreign study program at King’s College London.

FUN: I play baritone and alto sax in Dartmouth’s

FRILLS: When I come back to those purple cur-

PASSIONS: I just started a Best Buddies chapter

tains, I’m home. They add a bit of coziness. My plants, too.

with a friend. It’s an international organization that establishes one-on-one friendships with people with intellectual and developmental disabilites.

I also co-chair a swim group called ASPIRE — we work with kids who have autism — and a group called America Reads, which gets me into local classrooms to read books with kids. It’s the best kind of fun.

chamber orchestra. We laugh as much as we play.

ON THE WALLS: You probably can’t see it in the

photo, but there’s a poster over my bed of Regatta at Sainte-Adresse by Monet that my sister gave me and a scratch-off map showing all the places I’ve traveled. I’m just getting warmed up, when it comes to travel, but Dartmouth has given me a huge head start.

FAVORITE STUDY SNACK: A strawberry-peach-

blueberry smoothie with yogurt and orange juice … oh, and the — ahem — occasional pastry.

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ALYSIA GARRISON ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

Your field is 18th-century literature, culture, and history, so what are you working on with the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society at Dartmouth?

The liberal arts are at the nexus of all interdisciplinary research.

The Energy Institute is tapping work across the entire campus from literature to engineering to management in an effort to craft revolutionary solutions. My project reaches back into history to understand evolving ecological perspectives about energy and to track the roots of climate change.

Are you saying that the liberal arts are more than Chaucer and Plato?

We’re coming off a trend where the prevailing thinking was that only STEM matters. Science, technology, engineering, and math do matter, but not in place of the liberal arts. The liberal arts teach us to think, to evaluate, to reason, and — to paraphrase Immanuel Kant — to build courage to use that reason out in the world.

You are exploring something called secret history.

Is that as intriguing as it sounds?

I think so. Secret history straddles anecdote and memoir. It’s the retelling of established history, either embellishing it with fictional details or rewriting it with new facts and a new lens.

I’m investigating the form because of its enduring popularity in 18th-century — and 21st-century — novels. In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver chats with ghosts of famous emperors and philosophers who reveal the counter-history of corruption and scandal that has shaped world events. Secret history is making public what the powerful would just as soon keep private. It has special resonance in our present climate.

You must have many favorite books, but say you were stuck in an elevator. Which would you want at hand?

Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. It’s an experimental novel published in nine volumes in 1759 composed entirely of anecdotes covering a wide range of disciplines. In some sense, a collection of secret histories … and absolutely inexhaustible.

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Reason PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

The argument has always been that STEM is where the jobs are.

The reality of a STEM-dominated world has shown us what we’re missing: that the liberal is vocational. A study conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities a couple of years ago shows that 95% of employers want to hire people with intellectual and interpersonal skills — and that a job candidate’s major is less important to employers than the ability to think critically and solve problems.

and Revolution

oh,

Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, was a Dartmouth alum and helps inspire our adventuresome spirit.

go!

PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES

the places you’ll

Study abroad is an integral part of the Dartmouth experience—60% of students study off-campus, and almost a third will go twice.

It’s the flexibility of Dartmouth programs that make this possible: you can go on a Language Study Abroad (LSA) to work towards fluency while delving into the culture of the language, or you can do a Foreign Study Program (FSP) to dive into experiential learning somewhere in the world. Either way, you’ll have a Dartmouth faculty member with you to make sure you’re still getting the best educational experience possible. > NEW ZEALAND

PHOTOGRAPH BY KRISTEN CHALMERS ’17

Fringe benefit of studying abroad in New Zealand?

You get to turn your winter into a second summer. The real benefit? An academic term themed around an exploration of colonialism and its legacies that will also leave a lasting impression on you.

The Anthropology and Linguistics FSP at the University of Auckland, New Zealand lets you study colonialism and its impact on New Zealand, Maori society, and Maori language structures in a way that can only happen on-site.

You’ll feel past conflicts in bullet holes that remain in the walls of the oldest Christian church in New Zealand, a legacy of the 1845 Battle of Kororareka between native Maori and European settlers. You’ll learn directly from Maori people in intensives on Kapa Haka, Maori song and martial arts. And you’ll share these experiences with fellow Dartmouth students while creating your own memories at the volcano Taranaki, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, and anywhere else your wanderlust takes you.

The Guarini Institute for International Education holds an annual photo contest for students involved in off-campus programs. This was one of the winners.

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SUSANNAH HESCHEL ELI BLACK PROFESSORSHIP OF JEWISH STUDIES CHAIR, JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM

Talk about meeting Martin Luther King Jr. I met Dr. King a number of times as a result of my father’s involvement in the civil rights movement. I was fascinated by how often King invoked the Old Testament prophets. The prophets posed a challenge to theologians. During World War I, for example, the universal ethics preached by the prophets were rejected by nationalistic German theologians who supported Germany’s side of the war. When religious leaders have had to choose between universalism and nationalism, many have chosen the theological approach that supported nationalism. In Nazi Germany, some Protestant theologians reconfigured Christian theology and the Bible (which they re-wrote) to support Hitler, whom they viewed in messianic terms.

You are an astute scholar of the ramifications of culture.

What have you observed about the Dartmouth community?

The Dartmouth campus exudes a far greater sense of warmth than I’ve experienced anywhere else. Students help one another.

They crave and foster community. They’re fun. When they stop by my office or ask me to lunch, I enjoy spending time with them.

Invariably, I have ongoing conversations in my head with my students, thinking of things they’ve said and things I want to say when next we meet.

You’re stuck in an elevator. What book will make the time fly fastest?

The Collected Works of Shakespeare because it unfurls all of nature and the human condition. Could there be a better distraction when you’re stuck in an elevator than having Shakespeare’s delightfully flawed characters to keep you company? One of my great pleasures at Dartmouth is The Merchant of Venice seminar I co-teach with Patricia McKee in the English department.

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Theologian, Detective, Shakespeare Buff

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

You really are a sort of scholar-detective.

True enough. My focus is on Jewish-Christian relations in Germany during the 19th and 20th centuries, the political and cultural currents that shaped the Bible, the history of anti-Semitism, and the modern Jewish fascination with Islam, the topic of my forthcoming book. In recent years, I traveled to archives from one German city or village to the next to find documents that allowed me to piece together the theological currents that surged under the surface in Nazi Germany. That detective work resulted in my book The Aryan Jesus, which explores the disturbing religious forces that supported the Nazi regime and the murder of the Jews.

ON

COURSE GOVT 40.06 Elections in Emerging Democracies

How does democracy function in countries and communities with high levels of illiteracy? How do remarkably different kinds of ethnic diversity impact voting patterns across the world? In GOVT 40.06 Elections in Emerging Democracies, Professor Simon Chauchard leads students through a class that explores topics as diverse as how citizens across cultures view democracy, the impact of electoral violence, and the various ways money and patronage influence developing democracies.

While Professor Chauchard’s research looks at these issues through the lens of Indian politics — specifically through ethnic quotas that provide governmental representation for different castes — this class will engage with these topics from a more expansive perspective. Modern democracy began in western countries, but most democracies no longer resemble those examples. This reality begs a question: what does contemporary democracy look like around the world? Elections in Emerging Democracies answers that question by comparing examples of democratic government in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT GILL

What are Dartmouth students studying?

In every issue, we feature a popular course, plucked somewhat randomly from a deep reservoir of popular courses.

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Social Connection After the events in Charlottesville, VA, Carlos Polanco ’21 and Luiza Odhiambo ’21 brought many of their classmates together before they even arrived on campus to write a letter of support to the University of Virginia Class of 2021. As Carlos said: “It was amazing that so many of my classmates, many of whom had never met, could come together to write and edit our letter online. This made me excited to come to Dartmouth and join the community of activists on campus.”

Here is their letter.

To the University of Virginia Class of 2021, fellow classes, and community:

Upon hearing of what was happening on your campus, a group of Dartmouth ‘21s came together to reach out to you — our fellow classmates. We have unified as an incoming class, and we refuse to be silent. Allow our response to this tragedy and our ability to effectively collaborate (notably, before stepping onto campus) fuel the need for togetherness. Not just at our two colleges but beyond, to all campuses and other communities across our country.

We are aware that our response will not immediately change the minds of white supremacists and those who ascribe to their beliefs. Rather, we aim to — 1. Assuage fears and establish the Dartmouth College Class of 2021 as allies and friends of the University of Virginia Class of 2021 and all others targeted.

2. State our beliefs in hopes of starting constructive and civil discussions across all college campuses.

3. Set an example for our peers throughout the world by coming together and refusing to remain silent.

In the coming days, we will arrive on our respective campuses eager to start our college lives. But as the events at the University of Virginia have unfolded, fear may seem to overshadow optimism. Nonetheless, we firmly believe that no person, regardless of their race, religion, or sexual orientation, should ever fear for their safety. We must choose to make our campuses places that welcome enrichment and growth and foster understanding and compassion. Hate is never an option.

We do not seek to divide our classes and our respective communities.

Rather, we hope to reaffirm what we know to be true: that there is right and wrong and that the recent events at UVA embody much of what is wrong in our society. Thomas Jefferson once said: “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” These events present us with a matter of principle, and we, the Dartmouth ‘21s, choose to ‘stand like rocks’ in the face of violence and hatred. We choose to speak out in support of you, our friends at UVA, in order to foster a safer and more open-minded environment that will welcome you to the next four years of your lives.

Always remember to stand tall and be proud of who YOU are. Stand for, with, and by love. Love each other for your differences in language, faith, ethnicity, culture, gender, and sexuality. In such a divided world, we must cherish unity without uniformity. Show the world that you, UVA 2021 — an economically, racially, and religiously diverse class — are stronger for it. Never be silent in instances of injustice, and always be resilient.

Over the next four years, the University of Virginia will be your home and Charlottesville will be your community. You will grow and make lifelong friends, connections, and memories — ones that are happy enough to alleviate the painful and disheartening ones. You and your fellow ‘21s will unite together to form an unbreakable family. Let love be the torch that guides you and surely it will outshine theirs.

In Power, Dartmouth College ’21s

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MAGGIE BAIRD ’18 MAJOR: LINGUISTICS HOMETOWN: CHARLOTTETOWN, CANADA

As the winds blow Although many of her colleagues believe that Maggie was born a linguist, she came to Dartmouth with no interest in the field and no clear life plan. What she was looking for was a launching point for intensive exploration — and an inspired place to play trombone. She knew she didn’t want to major in music but wanted a school that took music seriously. Dartmouth definitely seemed to fit the high adventure requirement, and when she heard about the virtuosity of the Dartmouth Wind Ensemble, she was sold.

Maggie also entertains a great love for the theater and works as an outreach intern, forging curricular connections to performances at Dartmouth’s renowned Hopkins Center for the Arts.

“Ultimately, I want to be an educator like my parents. Education classes have been crucial, but experiences like this one at the Hop have given me inventive ways to look at teaching.”

What does she plan to teach? Linguistics, of course.

“Fundamentally, language is what makes us human,” Maggie says. “On stage and in life, language is what connects … and divides us. There are 7,000 languages in the world, and their boundaries are often barriers to understanding. That’s why it’s so important to figure out the ramifications of language. The ability to communicate is central to life on Earth.”

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As We PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Maggie Baird has traveled to 30 countries, plays trombone in the wind ensemble, and has studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. But none of those things are what’s most interesting about the Dartmouth senior who hails from Canada and the Dominican Republic.

Arguably, what sets Maggie Baird apart in the world is what she has been able to achieve in the field of linguistics — before the age of 21. The Dartmouth linguistics major is exploring new ground in her field with her study of Gulmancema, the language of the West African country Burkina Faso. Through Dartmouth classmate and Burkina Faso native Marc Sepama ’17 and the support of a Dartmouth Stamps Scholarship, she spent two weeks in France conversing in French with Marc’s aunt, who also speaks fluent Gulmancema.

With the mentorship and guidance of linguistics professor Laura McPherson, Maggie worked with data from that visit to complete a thesis that examined the factors that influence where vowels are pronounced. “Linguists,” Maggie explains, “look at something called formants — distinctive frequency components of speech — that allow us to graph vowels into a 2-D reproduction of the mouth.”

Speak

SPENCER FUREY ’17 MAJOR: HISTORY HOMETOWN: FAR HILLS, NEW JERSEY

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Studies PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

“I possess a bit of an obsessive personality.”

That might surprise you if you don’t know Spencer Furey well.

He’s just easy to be around. But to people who know rowing — and to people who know how Spencer rows — it makes complete sense.

Spencer graduated from Dartmouth as the captain of the heavyweight rowing team, then trained with the United States national team last summer before matriculating at Cambridge University in the fall. There, he is pursuing an MPhil (roughly equivalent to an American master’s degree) in American History with a thesis focusing on how personality characteristics of American presidents shape their policy-making. He’ll also compete for a spot on the crew that will race in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, the annual race on the Thames River that is televised to millions on the BBC. The truly remarkable part? Spencer arrived at Dartmouth with zero rowing experience.

He intended to walk on to Dartmouth’s tennis team, but when there weren’t any spots, he looked for a new challenge and found rowing. The direct relationship between hard work and success rewarded Spencer’s obsessive tendencies, and he quickly found himself learning everything he could about the sport.

He discovered the Boat Race and was immediately drawn to it. “I remember watching the race for the first time in the spring of 2014 and thinking that it was a competition that I wanted to take part in one day,” says Spencer. “If I worked hard in the classroom and on the water, I told myself, I might have the opportunity to join the tradition.”

Four years later, he’s doing it. And he’ll draw on his experience as a novice rower at Dartmouth to succeed at Cambridge.

When he joined the Dartmouth team, Spencer had to work hard to gain a sense of belonging among accomplished teammates.

Though it was difficult, the experience was invaluable. “The process of getting outside of my comfort zone was imperative for my development, and I look forward to using these experiences as I once again become the ‘new guy’ at Cambridge,” he says.

If all goes well, Furey will return to the States next summer a Boat Race winner, and rejoin the rowers at the USRowing National Training Center to pursue a spot on the United States national team. He’ll be the “new guy” again, but — for once — it won’t be new to him.

in Obsession

PHOTOGRAPH BY ELI BURAKIAN ’00

Courses of Study The Liberal Arts shape the Dartmouth experience, creating an academic culture imbued with critical thinking and creativity. One that promotes experimentation, reflection, learning and leadership.

A curriculum where poetry and neuroscience are natural partners and collaboration across disciplines happens organically. A course of study without boundaries. Forget the intellectual lines that people draw. You won’t find them here.

African and African American Studies Ancient History Anthropology Applied Mathematics for Biological and Social Sciences m Applied Mathematics for Physical and Engineering Sciences m Art History Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures (Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, or Japanese) Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Astronomy Biological Chemistry M Biology Biomedical Engineering Sciences M Biophysical Chemistry M Chemistry Classical Archaeology Classical Languages and Literatures Classical Studies Cognitive Science M Comparative Literature M Complex Systems m Computational Methods m

The Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Program (AMES) is one of many interdisciplinary programs at Dartmouth.

In this major, you’ll work closely with a faculty member to design your own course of study centered on one or more disciplines and a region of Eurasia.

Computer Science Digital Arts m Earth Sciences Economics Education m Engineering Physics M Engineering Sciences English Environmental Earth Sciences Environmental Science m Environmental Studies Film and Media Studies French French Studies M Geography German Studies Global Health m Government History Human-Centered Design m International Studies m Italian Italian Studies M Jewish Studies m Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies Linguistics Markets, Management, and the Economy m Materials Science m Mathematical Biology m Mathematical Finance m Mathematical Logic m Mathematical Physics m Mathematical Data Science M Mathematics Medieval and Renassiance Studies m Music Native American Studies Neuroscience Operations Research m Philosophy

Portuguese (Lusophone Studies) Physics Psychology Public Policy m Quantitative Social Science Religion Romance Languages M Romance Studies M Russian Russian Area Studies Social Inequalities m Sociology Spanish (Hispanic Studies) Statistics m Studio Art Sustainability m Theater Urban Studies m Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies m = minor only M = major only

Can’t decide what to study?

It’s not uncommon for students to double major or modify their major at Dartmouth. A modified major consists of 10 courses, six in one field and four in a second field or perhaps in more than one area. For example, you could modify your Comparative Literature major with Art History or Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

Financial aid can be confusing.

We want to make it simple.

The MyinTuition Quick College Cost Estimator asks only six questions to provide an early estimate of what a year at Dartmouth could cost for your family. Go to dartgo.org/quickcost to help anticipate your college costs.

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POINTS

OF

MUSINGS ON THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS

DEPARTURE

“Fit” is a eureka moment “Fit” is one of those words that admissions officers and guidance counselors use with great regularity. It begs an important question: what does this magical thing called “fit” mean? When we reference it, it’s not unusual for a student to scrunch up their face or maybe squint back with an unsure expression that says “that admissions person is talking in code again.” Others shake their head and say, “Great, I’m a fit. What scores do I need to get accepted?” But this misses the point. Scores and fit are not part of the same conversation.

A good “fit” between a student and a college is really important. We’d go so far as to argue that it’s the essential element of an effective college search; it’s the sense that there is a serendipitous alignment of academic, personal, and cultural qualities. Fit answers critical questions: is there a match here? Do we offer what she wants to study, how she wants to study it, and where she wants to study it? Is there a synergistic vibe? Do her values and aspirations sync with those of the institution?

Assessing fit is a two-way street. You should be thinking about it and looking for it and reflecting on it as a tour guide walks backwards across a campus, while scrolling through social media, as you flip through this magazine, or during a conversation with a guidance counselor or admissions officer. Do you catch yourself nodding? Are you smiling? Fit is registering. Something is clicking.

“Fit” is a eureka moment. When our writing supplement asks “Why Dartmouth?” we are helping you find it. The question and your response (in 100 words or less) offers the admissions reader really important insight about whether or not Dartmouth (in this example) is the right place for you.

Here are a few noteworthy responses to our “Why Dartmouth?” essay that illustrate fit. (And yes, each author is now a member of the Class of 2021.) Each of you will connect with different aspects of the Dartmouth experience and your essays should reflect that. We hope these excerpts show a variety of ways to think about finding fit and help you to shape the narrative of your essays.

Frankly,

it’s Dartmouth’s northern New England setting that I find most exciting … What other Ivy is so connected to nature? I want to go somewhere where I can push myself to the limits, intellectually. But I also want to have fun; I want to feel at home.

explore,

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

As someone who loves to Dartmouth promises an alluring combination of academic rigor with wiggle room.

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I hope to discover the balance between engineering, computer science, visual arts, and humanities.

At most places, studying engineering signs away creative curricular license. At Dartmouth, it does the opposite. I’m fascinated by the digital arts track’s integration of art and coding and the Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering program’s use of engineering to aid developing countries.

Dartmouth

is a school where authenticity and difference in perspective is encouraged and expected.

(QSS)

Quantitative Social Sciences is a dream: I’d love to study sports sociology, to peel apart questions spotlighting race and gender-based issues that plague the sports world today.

vibrant

ecosystem.

Dartmouth is a Students and faculty who are among our time’s leading intellectuals make up the close-knit community of organisms, interacting with each other and their physical environment in energetic Hanover. I would thrive as a member of this complex network.

writing

drums in my My love for head when I’m away from pen or keyboard for too long. Expressing myself through language and weaving a reader through an immersive story is my way to influence the world.

extraordinary

school An and a curious girl: that sounds like a match made to impact the world.

This is a place

where I know I will explore everything I love, from jazz music to international politics. I don’t know where I want to go, but I know that Dartmouth will help me find my path.

magic

creates a Dartmouth’s community that lives on long after graduation.

: Disclaimer Note: The officers of the College believe that the information contained herein is accurate as of the date of publication, and they know of no significant changes to be made at the College in the near future. However, Dartmouth reserves the right to make, from time to time, such changes in its operations, programs and activities as the Trustees, faculty, and officers consider appropriate and in the best interests of the Dartmouth community.

Equal Opportunity: Dartmouth is committed to the principle of equal opportunity for all its students, faculty, staff, and applicants for admission and employment. For that reason, Dartmouth prohibits any form of discrimination against any person on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, national origin, citizenship, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other legally protected status in the administration of and access to the College’s programs and activities, and in conditions of admission and employment. Dartmouth adheres to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity laws and regulations.

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Produced by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions of Dartmouth College Editor: Hayden Lizotte Production Editor: Sara D. Morin Contributing Editor: Topher Bordeau Writing/Editing: Thurston-Lighty, Ltd. Design: Hecht/Horton Partners

PHOTOGRAPH BY ELI BURAKIAN ‘00

Three years after the first celebratory bonfire on Dartmouth’s campus, an editorial in The Daily Dartmouth lamented that the practice “disturbed the slumbers of a peaceful town, destroyed some property … and in fact did no one any good.”

One hundred and twenty-nine classes of Dartmouth students have since disagreed. While the original bonfire was in celebration of a 34-0 victory in baseball, now the focus is undeniably the first-year class. In October, each year’s newest class of students builds a multistory tower. On Friday morning, the class crowns their achievement by affixing giant class numerals to the top of their work and, shortly after sundown, the stack is set ablaze.

Today’s students honor tradition and celebrate their entrance into the Dartmouth family by running laps around the bonfire as the timbers crackle, wood smoke perfumes the air, and the orange reflection of the flames dances in the windows of Baker Library and Dartmouth Hall.

THE DARTMOUTH STORY

A PAGE FROM

THREADS :

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