For international students, leaving home to go to school in the United States is a major, sometimes life-changing decision. But Freshman Class President Frode Eilertsen '99 "just wanted to do something different."
This statement is quite indicative of the ambitious attitude of this 23-year-old, anything-but-typical Dartmouth freshman.
At a place that prides itself on cultivating a diverse community composed of people of different backgrounds, the well-rounded, worldly Eilertsen could be the poster boy for the College.
Sitting inside Collis Cafe at the Collis Student Center on a winter afternoon, Eilertsen drank a cup of hot coffee as he talked about his life -- a strange odyssey that has taken him from the army and law school in Norway to the presidency of the Freshman Council at Dartmouth College -- and many places in between.
Coming to Dartmouth
Already possessing background in languages, philosophy and law, Eilertsen came to Dartmouth not to deepen his education in any of these fields, but to try his hand at something totally different -- engineering.
With so much going for him back in Norway, one might wonder why Eilertsen decided to just pick up and start something completely new.
Eilertsen simply responded, "That's just who I am -- I've always been a restless person. It's my curse and my blessing."
He said he sought a new discipline because "I am seeking the broadest possible education at the highest possible level."
Eilertsen said he first found out about Dartmouth when he worked at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
While working at the Olympics, Eilertsen became acquainted with the first-secretary of the American Embassy in Norway, whose son was a 1990 graduate of Dartmouth.
Since he was interested in coming to an American school, Eilertsen listened carefully as the first-secretary told him about the College.
"It's a shame, but I can't say I had heard of Dartmouth before," Eilertsen admitted.
Eilertsen added Dartmouth to his list and applied to several U.S. colleges and universities. He was accepted at some, but said he got the scholarship he was looking for from Dartmouth.
Back in Norway
Born and raised in Norway, Eilertsen got his first taste of America when as an exchange student he spent a year at a high school in Seattle, when he was 16-years-old.
Two years later, back in Norway, he graduated from high school, but instead of heading on to higher education, Eilertsen joined the Norwegian armed forces, seeking to complete his mandatory term of service.
All males in Norway are required to serve at least one year in the armed forces, or two if they choose to go through officer training. Eilertsen does not like to talk too much about his time in the military -- he also shuns efforts by others who seek to glorify his service and does not like to be known as "that guy who was in the Norwegian army" -- and would not elaborate greatly on his tenure in the armed forces.
All he would say about that time in his life is that he chose to stay on longer than his mandatory term -- he served a total of three years -- and that as an officer, he preferred that his men call him by his first name.
While in the armed forces, Eilertsen found time to study Russian on the side. It was also during his service that he started taking law school courses for credit, but he was not officially enrolled in any law school.
In Norway, Eilertsen explained, there is no undergraduate education -- instead high school graduates go right to professional or graduate school. Most professional schools, such as medical school and law school, require six years of study, he said.
As if studying Russian and taking law classes were not diverse enough for Eilertsen, he used a four-month break from his military service to further broaden his horizons.
"I studied philosophy in a monastery in Greece," Eilertsen said with a grin, reminiscing about his summer days living in a monastery annex.
Meeting high expectations
Once he completed his military service, Eilertsen attended law school in Norway at the University of Oslo for a year before coming to Dartmouth and starting all over as a freshman undergraduate.
Having seen just a few pictures and knowing very little about the College, Eilertsen came to Hanover in September not knowing what to expect.
He has not been disappointed.
"I had high expectations, but I never imagined it would be like this," Eilertsen said. "Dartmouth is pretty much like a hidden treasure."
Eilertsen said the College's outdoor emphasis reminds him a lot of home, and he said he regrets he does not have more time to devote to the Dartmouth Outing Club.
The major strengths of Dartmouth, Eilertsen said, are the "wholeness" of the liberal arts education here and the constant, intimate contact between students and professors.
Both are improvements over what Eilertsen is used to, he said.
In Norway, professional schools consist of full-time immersion in one subject. "It would be like taking nine govy courses" over an academic year at the College, he said.
Eilertsen said he has been greatly impressed by the diversity of the College and the many opportunities for learning not just in the classroom, but from fellow students.
"Just about everyone I've talked to knows something I didn't know," he said.
But Eilertsen also had some criticisms of the College, which he said as Freshman Council president, he hoped to address and to try to help improve.
Since the whole social scene at Dartmouth revolves around the Greek system, as Eilertsen put it, there are few dance clubs or coffeehouses. Eilertsen cited these diversions as staples of student life in Norway.
He suggested the construction of a multi-purpose student center, which besides housing student organizations, could also hold a dance club and a coffeehouse, giving students more social options, he said.
Eilertsen also said a place to purchase coffee should be included in the plans to expand Baker library, since many students expressed to him a desire to drink coffee while reading. A coffeehouse "would seem to be a very natural thing to include in the expansion," he said.
Over the past several months, the Class of 1999 Council, under Eilertsen's direction, has devised many other events, including a Freshman Class ski day, which was canceled at the last minute because of warm weather, and a sanctioned organized rush of Memorial Field at the Homecoming game, to replace the administration-outlawed tradition of rushing the field during halftime of a football game.
He praised his fellow Council members, calling them "very supportive and encouraging," and said leading the Council has been "a very pleasant experience."
Rex Morey '99, vice president of Freshman Council, returned the favor, heaping praise on Eilertsen.
"Frode is a great leader who is very organized, effective, and determined," he said. Morey said Eilertsen's wealth of diverse experiences prior to coming to Dartmouth "have helped to form an excellent leader and a great friend."
Eilertsen said his long- term goal is to finish up law school in Norway -- possibly using some leave-terms from the College -- as well as to earn a Master's degree in engineering.
Despite Eilertsen's desire to be "just a normal guy," many find it hard to overcome the age issue when talking to or about him.
But Eilertsen said although he is 23, he does not think about the age difference all that often.
"Maturity is all the things you have experienced and what you learned from it. In that respect, it's only natural that I have more experience in some areas than the average 'shmen -- after all, I am 5 years older," he said.
