There's a funny hesitation coming over me as I write this column to you to offer advice and share my Dartmouth experience. I honestly do not know what to tell you that you have not already heard from your relatives. I will tell you that you are an adult, which for the most part is true. I will tell you that the classes will be challenging and that some of your professors may act like their course is the only one you have to take a term; I'm sure you have guessed that already. I will also tell you that you have made the best decision of your life: the people here are fantastic, the food is great and the experiences you have will stay with you through your lifetime.
I need to let you know that all those things were true for me -- so much so that I decided to stay here and work after I graduated this past June. I love Dartmouth; I bleed green. There is one thing that I want to tell you that you may not know: it is all about you. Now some may think that is something they know: "It's all about me? I knew that! I am the bomb!" Great, but no. What I mean to suggest, my future Dartmouth brothers and sisters, is that everything that you do here, everything you see, everything you wish, is what you make it. Now, I hope that folks have read up to this point, and have gotten over all of my rotten cliches. Yet I'm serious. It is all about you; your personal initiative is what will craft "Dartmouth" College into Your name Here's College. True, you do not own the College, but you do own your time here. What you do with that is totally your creation.
When I entered Dartmouth College in the fall of 1995, I was going to be an engineer, hands down. I had already decided which bridges I was going to rebuild in my hometown of Chicago, which highways I needed to lay out and which one-way side streets could be broadened into wide, tree-lined avenues. I was going to be the greatest civil engineer ever. So I visited my faculty advisor at the Thayer School of Engineering and he and I sat, with a course catalog, and laid out all of the courses that I would take for the next four years. This endeavor took a good two hours, but it was well worth it. I left his office with a plan and a smile. Dartmouth was going to work for me!
I changed all of my courses the following week. Why? I thought about the courses that were not for engineers: Art History, Anthropology,and Computer Science. All those seemed wonderful to me, especially since they were not offered in my high school. The session with my faculty advisor was fruitful; there is no doubt of that. It let me realize that I could study anything I wanted and that I was in control of my intellectual growth. At 18, I could have never known truly what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Dartmouth provided me with the opportunities to explore. I graduated with a degree in English modified with Religion. For courses that will make you grow, I suggest Education 20, or any Education courses. They are, unequivocally, the few Dartmouth courses that capture the essence of a liberal arts education. My friends, do not forget why you were chosen to attend Dartmouth. You proved you have an intellectual curiosity that will take you beyond the classroom, and propel you to learn things you only dreamed in high school. Do what you want to do, but let your mind explore.
I want to let you in on a secret: it is all about you. Wait that's not secret anymore. This is -- you are a going to be an artist. Ok, that's more of a fortune than a secret. I am not a soothsayer, nor have I worked with Dionne Warwick. But I do know this: you get the chance to paint your own social life. There is a great canvas laid before you. Starting from your DOC trip to your walk across the stage at the 2003 Commencement, you have the privilege to create your experience. Attack the canvas with the enthusiasm of a six-year-old with finger paints or the quiet skill of a master on par with DaVinci. The choice is yours. Remember that Dartmouth has upwards of 200 student organizations. I think I was in about 197 of those during my years. The great thing is that if the Medieval Cuisine Club you chaired in high school is not here, you are free to create it. Fashion your social life; refuse to have one handed to you. This is your responsibility more so since the announcement of the social and residential initiatives suggested by the trustees of the college. You have the tools now, and it is your duty to use them.
Finally, I would like to congratulate your class for being the most diverse in Dartmouth's history. Please do not waste the chance to get to know your classmates, all of them. Challenge yourselves to step out of your comfort zones; that is the only way you will know that you should not have them. I wanted my social goal to be to meet every single person in the Class of 1999, and I think I came fairly close. Make your personal goal to meet all of the 2003s, those in your UGA groups, those in Food Court and those at the Hop. Then not only would it be all about you, but about the friends you keep as well.
You step onto campus, and think, "This is the beginning of my adult life." A smile graces your face as you realize that the weather is pleasant, the air is fresh, and the dogs are abundant. You are starting the greatest years of your life: it is up to you to make them so. If you take anything from this, remember that it is, in all of its grandeur and scope, all about you. Welcome to Dartmouth College.
