Matthew K. Nelson '00 wasn't here for the cancelled Winter Carnival parties or rallies on College President James Wright's lawn. But the newly appointed representative to the Initiative Steering Committee still wanted to have his voice heard in shaping Dartmouth's future.
Nelson spent Winter term in India, and didn't actually hear about the Trustee's Five Principles for social and residential change until about two weeks after it was announced.
"Getting back, I was a little shocked and wanted to get involved," Nelson said.
Nelson ran - and lost - in the campus elections for a slot on the Steering Committee, but was later appointed to a position by the Student Assembly.
As president of Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, Nelson has a vested interest in the future of the single-sex Greek system. However, Nelson said he wants to strike a balance between representing his own personal views and the opinions of the student body as a whole.
"I'm looking both for a chance to have my voice heard and to represent the student voice," Nelson said.
Nelson is an engineering major modified with environmental science. However, Nelson said his main interest has been education - his minor.
During his term in northwest India, Nelson dedicated his time to education, as a research assistant to Education Professor Andrew Garrod and as a Tucker Fellow. He began his trip in December, helping Garrod conduct interviews of Indian school children for his next book, which takes a cross-cultural look at moral development.
Nelson then spent the rest of the term teaching English at a Buddhist monastery.
"I'm very interested in teaching and I think it was an opportunity to see what it really might be like in a different environment than I would find here," Nelson said.
After graduation, Nelson is faced with the choice of whether to enter a fifth year at Dartmouth to pursue a Bachelor of Engineering degree at the Thayer School or to go into teaching.
Nelson grew up in Hawaii, outside Honolulu. He lived with his mother, who is a kindergarten teacher, his father, a carpenter, and his younger brother, now a senior in high school.
"It was a perfect place to grow up," Nelson said of his home state. Although he said he probably won't return there right after graduation, Nelson said he might go back someday to raise a family of his own.
Nelson came to Dartmouth because he was looking for a smaller college on the East Coast, and applied early decision.
"Dartmouth just seemed the perfect match," Nelson said.
In addition to his leadership role as a fraternity president, Nelson is a captain of the men's water polo club team. He has been playing water polo since fifth grade and knew that he would continue playing when he came to Dartmouth.
One of the highlights of his time at Dartmouth, Nelson said, was winning water polo nationals his sophomore year. He said that water polo is very different in the East than it was in Hawaii, where it is one of the main sports people play.
Another highlight of Nelson's time at Dartmouth was serving as an undergraduate advisor his sophomore year. He said he enjoyed getting to know his freshmen and other residents of his floor and all of the late night talks with the people he lived with.
Nelson will remain in Hanover for the summer and work as a senior interviewer in the admissions office, interviewing applicants for the Class of 2004.
Nelson will officially begin in his role as a Steering Committee member at their first meeting this Friday.
