As the members of the Class of 2000 eagerly await their diplomas, most are plagued with mixed emotions. Some are excited to go, yet some feel unprepared for what actually lies beyond the reassuring shadow of the Lone Pine.
"I'm really excited about what's coming and I'm ready to move on," Meghan Hewit '00 said. However, she qualified her statement by admitting that she is currently experiencing mixed emotions about departing from her alma mater.
"I feel like I'm leaving home," she explained. "Everything's really surreal right now. The Green is especially green."
Carolyn Fusfeld '00 described her emotions as "a mix between joy, nostalgia and sadness."
"I guess I'm kind of torn," she explained. "I think there are a lot of things I've taken for granted that I know I'll miss later."
Others feel completely ready to enter the next phase of their lives.
"It's really about time to leave," said Jodie Lee '00.
Yet, Alex Buzik '00 said that, while he is ready to move on, "at the same time it's a little bittersweet."
Andrew Martin '00 concurred.
"I think I'm not anxious to leave but I'm ready to go."
Martin as well as others attributed their reluctance to leave to the myriad friendships that they had formed throughout the duration of their four years at the College.
"The people here are what makes this place," Hewit asserted.
Indeed, she said she'd miss most "just being able to run into all these people" in the Hop or on the Green.
Others said that they'd especially miss the Dartmouth traditions they had come to know and love.
Martin said his favorite custom was Sanborn Library's four o'clock tea time -- "I almost never missed a tea day," he exclaimed.
Nick Beckman '00 also said he'd miss such festive weekends as Homecoming, Green Key and Winter Carnival. Although he plans on visiting the College as an alumnus, he knows that Dartmouth traditions will never be quite the same again.
"A lot of the people I shared those things with won't be here," he reasoned.
Yet, even in the face of nostalgia, most seniors were unready to put on their rose-colored glasses; many felt that there were some aspects of college life that they'd be happy to leave behind.
Martin said he'd be glad to abandon his status as a starving student.
"The debts! The costs! I'll be anxious to start getting a pay check," he laughed.
Beverly Guttag '00 said she'd miss "the convenience of everything -- everything is all right here, everything comes to me -- famous people, pop events, information, classes. It's sort of a passive experience compared to the real world."
Beckman said he certainly wouldn't miss the rigorous academic schedule of an Ivy League institution.
"I do think I'll be relieved to be done with all the work," Beckman said as he finished up his last paper.
Some said that, although they greatly appreciate the excellent education provided them by the College, they were looking forward to graduate work because they felt they had outgrown the scholarship that Dartmouth has to offer.
"I feel like I've learned a lot here but that staying here isn't going to help me learn a whole lot more," Lee explained
Most agreed that this week's commencement will be much different from their respective high school graduation experiences.
"This is definitely a much bigger deal," Benjamin Nastau '00 said. "It's much more exciting."
Buzik agreed.
"I'm looking forward to it; it's definitely a bigger step than high school."
Some noted that a major difference between high school and college graduations relates to what lies beyond the distribution of diplomas. Whereas high school graduates may look forward to four years of university, college graduates find themselves suddenly faced with the proverbial "real world."
"Part of your life is kind of over -- it's more of a personal thing," Fusfeld said.
Guttag didn't know if she'd be quite ready for it.
"I don't feel completely like an adult," she admitted. "I feel like a college kid."
Others are more self-confident.
"I think Dartmouth did a pretty good job preparing us," Buzik said.
Lee wasn't so sure. "My real world is going to be a little different from everybody else's real world," she said, explaining that she plans to travel to West Africa as a member of the Peace Corps next fall. "So I guess I'll find out in about 3 months."
Yet whatever lies ahead for this bright and talented class, one can be sure that the alma mater adage will hold true: "The granite of New Hampshire is made part of them 'til death."
