Whether out of fear of entering the real world or just getting those few extra credits, members of the Class of 1994 are still hanging around after their "graduation" in June.
Some "seniors," like Dawn Urbont '94, said they are staying around Hanover to ease the transition into the real world.
"I'm kind of here to figure out what I'm going to be doing next," said Urbont, who plans to go into film or television production and is currently finishing up a film she started earlier this year.
Another member of the Class of 1994, Heather Searles, is learning Swahili and researching graduate schools this summer. She said she is "basically waiting until I go to my job" in telecommunications.
Mitch Jacobs '94 said he is staying in Hanover to manage his entrepreneurial enterprises. He is the creator and owner of the Hanover Green Card, which lets students pay for food at local businesses with a declining balance card.
Unlike many of his peers, Jacobs equates Hanover with the "real world."
"After graduation, I moved into the real world, but I really moved three-hundred yards," he said.
But for most graduates who have remained, Dartmouth is not the same as it used to be.
"Everyone graduated and still in Hanover feels out of sorts. This isn't where we thought we'd be," Chris Johnson '94 said. Johnson is working on a project looking into the history of The Dartmouth.
Most of the members of the Class of 1994 have returned home or started working and are surrounded by members of the Class of 1996 who are attending their mandatory sophomore summer.
"There is no social life for graduates in Hanover," Johnson said. He said this first term of being separated from his class would be no different from the rest of his life.
K.J. Ward '94 also lamented the lack of social life for the older students, saying "I feel very removed from campus life."
Christine Brogan '94, who is helping Jacobs with his businesses this summer said, "It's sad. I keep expecting to run into other '94s."
But others said they have no difficulty being separated from the rest of their class. "I don't have this connection with my class," said Adam Pollak '94, who is finishing up his last term of classes.
Like Pollak, a smattering of '94s have not received their diplomas. Many remain on-campus to finish up the credits they need.
The College has set up a network for students still finishing up credits after their class has graduated.
Senior Associate Dean of the College Daniel Nelson recently met with a few "active olders" outside the Collis Student Center.
Nelson, who took a year off to study elsewhere after his first year at the College, said he encouraged students to come to him with any administrative questions or gripes.
Tony Lightfoot '92, who took time off to enlist in the military, said his time away from school made him more focused on his schoolwork when he returned and reminded him that Dartmouth is not "the end all and be all." Others attending the informal meeting included Christopher Kennedy '94 who took two years off after his first year and Harley McAllister '94 who plans to spend an extra year at Dartmouth to get an engineering degree.
Ward, who is working as an accounts analyst at the Dartmouth Medical School and also completing a manuscript with Education Professor Andrew Garrod that will be published in the fall, is ready to leave the College.
"I've had my day at Dartmouth and I'm definitely glad to be moving on," Ward said.
