Alabama native David Walthall '98 -- otherwise known as "Bama Dave" -- has a demeanor that is often as off-the-wall as his nickname suggests.
President of the Dartmouth Cords, performer in the Dog Day Players and member of this year's Hanover Crew for Freshmen Outing Club trips, the 21-year-old's friends recognize what he calls his "quirky sense of humor."
"He's always got the next one-liner when you're around him," Cords member Jon Light '00 said. "He's very quick-witted."
Walthall said he is a focused and organized person who works hard on academics, "but it's great to be able to put all that aside and to let loose."
"I'm very crazy but not very wild," he said.
The "crazy" aspects of Walthall's personality break out in some of his many extracurricular activities -- and in social situations.
"When he goes to Disco Inferno, he'll dress up in wacky clothes, and he'll be the head of every party he's at," Tim Farrell '98 said.
Walthall said he co-founded the Cords with Chris Aslin '97 after being inspired by the Whingding concert during his freshman winter.
He said the biggest challenge about leading a new a cappella group was "getting people to get into your idea, to believe in your dream."
Walthall provided himself with a new comedic challenge when he joined the Dog Day Players this fall.
"I think with improvisation, because it's unrehearsed, I never know quite what's going to come out," he said. "I'm not a person who can concoct an elaborate joke, but I think I have a pretty quick wit."
Walthall said he enjoys the interaction between performers and members of the audience during shows.
He said he gets a "personal jolt" from being able to share a part of himself other people. "I find that as a performer, I get a lot of juice from the audience," he added.
Walthall said he also enjoys dancing and has learned ballroom, swing and Latin dance.
While his parents are not actively involved in the arts, Walthall said he attributes some of his dance skills to them.
He said he used to ballroom dance with his mother at home, and he taps into "her timing and movement."
His father, who is a Presbyterian minister, "has a real sense of presence, and I think that also influenced me, because as a male dancer, you have to have confidence," Walthall said.
But comedy, music and dance are not the only things that are important to Walthall.
"He definitely has a serious side," Light said. "He might try to hide it sometimes with his humor, but once you get to know him really well, he'll let both sides come out."
What Light described as Walthall's ability to "look at both side of every situation," is evident in his reaction to his nickname.
While he likes being called "Bama Dave," he said he has mixed feelings about his southern origins.
"It has a pretty infamous past, so while I enjoy a lot of the South, I get frustrated with some of the history," he said. "I like to think of myself as a progressive Southerner -- friendliness, community -- those kinds of things I try to embody."
Walthall lives up to his ideals, offering food and drink to visitors who enter his dorm room and making time for his friends.
"I feel like I'm able to talk to him about just about everything that's going on with me -- he's almost a family member in that respect," Farrell said.
One of Walthall's more unusual interests is his fascination with trains. He grew up near a train track, and said he loves model trains and train history.
He said he likes to go to train stations and "try to figure out what it used to be like."
"There's always a sort of mystery around trains that I like to figure out," he said.
Walthall, an Italian major, said his trip to Italy on the Language Study Abroad program impacted his goals and actions.
He said he was impressed by the "rhythm of life" in Italy.
"There is something really to be said for down time," Walthall said.
Walthall said he tries "to take different routes, to really put a value on people, to really put a value on relationships" and "to reconsider a lot of things I hold as the norm."
