For many Dartmouth alumni, memories of their years in New Hampshire remain unfaded.
But for members of the Class of 1996, scheduled to hold their first class reunions June 15-17, recollections of their alma mater are particularly vivid.
With the perspective provided by five years away from Hanover, the Green and Hop fries, all alumni who spoke with The Dartmouth looked back on their time at the College fondly.
"Everyone says how much fun you have in college, and you definitely miss it. It's a time of life that comes and goes," Jack Kolodny '96 said. "If you talk to my classmates and ask if they'd want to do it again, they definitely would."
"My friends and I can't believe it's been five years," Pei Lynn Yee '96 said, noting that she has been impressed with the strength of the alumni networking community since graduation.
Most alumni spoke more of the value of their friendships, activities and community than formal education.
"I think that [Dartmouth] prepares you well for the different sorts of people you meet in the outside world, through the interpersonal relationships that you cultivate," Yee said.
"More than the classes, it was the stuff I did outside -- through extracurriculars and service to the community -- that was meaningful," Danielle Brune '96 said.
"I don't sit here and use microeconomics every day, but it was about learning how to think," Kolodny, who is currently working toward receiving a masters in business administration from Stanford University, said.
Members of the Class of '96 have occupied themselves with many types of activities since graduation, but particularly common is the graduate school route.
Yee said that many of her classmates are either "starting, finishing or in a phase of" completing advanced degrees, and Kolodny described the Stanford MBA program as "kind of like college, only with more money."
Kolodny noted that while for most '96 alumni too little time has passed since graduation for fame or fortune, "Everyone I know is doing something interesting."
Brune noted that one classmate is currently working at a lion preserve in Africa. Another is designing hats in New York City which have appeared in the pages of such periodicals as Cosmopolitan, Glamour and The New York Times Magazine.
"I don't think she planned on designing hats at Dartmouth," Brune commented.
Most '96s who spoke with The Dartmouth at least sporadically keep up with current news on campus. One noted subscribing to The eDartmouth, a service that sends The Dartmouth's daily headlines by e-mail, following the Zantop murders.
With perspective outside the "Big Green bubble," most expressed a degree of open-mindedness regarding the ongoing changes associated with the Student Life Initiative which have impacted campus since their departure.
"I think most of the changes are good. A lot of alums tend to have a gut reaction and think it's going to be worse, but while Dartmouth was great, it wasn't perfect," Brune '96 said.
Kolodny was a bit more cautious, saying,"You can close down the Greeks, but you need to provide an alternative. The question is whether the administration will have the vision to provide that.
As for the reunion itself, scheduled activities include day and overnight trips to Mt. Moosilauke, a class picnic on the Bema and a panel discussion entitled, "Who's Green Now."
And, of course, alumni will have the chance to simply catch up with old classmates.
"Five years is a long time, and while you may have had a hundred friends in college, you don't know what they've all been up to," Kolodny said.
"It's a little like the D-plan accelerated," he added.
