A little more than two months ago, at the beginning of Spring term, Josh Holman '01 knew almost exactly how he would spend the next year of his life: he would take one of the first available post-Commencement flights to France, enjoy a week's vacation with his family, and then make his way over to Rome, where he would live and work for the next six months. In the early winter, he would return to Boston for a consulting job he arranged through Career Services.
Meanwhile, senior Jenn Tlumak was less certain of her plans. Frantically completing her history thesis, she was considering jobs in the environmental movement and in private school teaching. But she didn't have anything lined up, nor did she know what she most wanted to do.
David Nelson '01 was waiting to hear from various law schools at the beginning of Spring term. He was anxious about the news that the imminent envelopes would contain, but remained uncertain that law was his appropriate life task. In the meantime, he had a thesis to write on Haitian literature and, as an international student, visa considerations to balance.
As the members of the Class of 2001 finish their college careers today, one chapter in their lives concludes. Tomorrow, another one will officially commence as the more than 1,000 soon-to-be graduates scatter across the country and around the world.
But the stories of how the graduating seniors chose or, in some cases, have yet to choose what shape the next stage in their 22-odd year lives will take are more complicated than simple conclusions and easy beginnings. They are stories marked by decision and indecision, anticipation and anxiety, luck and unrelenting effort, certainty and doubt.
Some made early choices and stuck to them. Others are waiting for a "eureka" career moment.
What follows are the stories of how three seniors, each with starkly different interests and backgrounds, navigated their last term at Dartmouth and how they approached this day, Commencement Day, when they will walk up to the temporary stage, receive their diplomas and embark on something new.
Josh Holman
Born in Denver, Co., Holman came to Dartmouth planning to become a doctor and to play on the varsity lacrosse team in his non-academic time.
As it turned out, he concentrated in chemistry. But when push came to shove and he had to start seriously considering his future, he opted out of medicine because "in today's world, being a doctor is less about helping people and more about public relations." As for lacrosse, he played for three years until he suffered a knee injury at the end of his junior year.
So over the past summer, still recuperating from knee surgery, Holman enrolled in the Tuck School's "Tuck Bridge" program. "It was awesome, totally awesome," he said of the experience. "It basically lets you see what there is to learn. It's a good spark for inspiration into the business world, and that's what let me know, 'Hey, business is fun as opposed to chemistry.'"
Still, Holman was convinced that his chemistry background would not be lost on him if he chose the business path. "It's the fun parts about chemistry. You have a problem, and you have an infinite ways of going about solving it," he said.
After that, Holman's career choices were relatively simple, he said. As a retired lacrosse player, Holman filled his spare time working as a drill instructor and going through Career Service's corporate recruiting process.
By the end, he had two job offers: one at an investment banking firm and another at a consulting company. He chose the latter.
"It seemed to me that I-banking was more about numbers and consulting was more about people," he said, adding: "I think everyone's goal is to start their own company, and by going into consulting, you learn about other peoples' successes and failures."
In addition to lacrosse and working as a drill instructor, Holman has spent a good amount of his Dartmouth extracurricular life as a member of Alpha Delta fraternity. He said one of his most wrenching decisions while in Hanover came in the fall of his sophomore year when he had to select which fraternity he would pledge.
Deciding between AD, where he felt he would be able to meet new people, and Theta Delta Chi fraternity, home to many of his lacrosse teammates, was "a very difficult decision." He chose AD because, "Why not go to a fraternity with a different group of people?"
After participating in the Italian department's Language Study Abroad program to Siena, Holman fell in love with Italy and later decided he would spend several months after graduation in that country, he said. When he found a Rome-based start-up Internet company that sells artisan products and needed a translator, he was eager to jump aboard. That was at the beginning of Spring term.
By the end of the term, though, he had received an email from the head of the company stating the company was experiencing financial shakeups, and would be unable to pay him.
Holman still doesn't know what he will do while in Rome, though he is considering a tutoring job and is sure that his plans to live in that city will not change.
"I'm looking forward to no responsibility at all, and just having some wine in Rome and relaxing and figuring out my stuff," he said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how things settle, and which friends I keep in touch with. Beginning anew is what I'm looking forward to."
In terms of leaving Dartmouth, throughout the term Holman worked at preparing himself and made himself ready. In his own words: "It's a strange feeling to know that you look forward to leaving but that you don't want to be out of here."
He said he is most looking forward to "supporting myself, because my parents have done that my entire life. And I'm starting to feel guilty. I'm looking forward to buying a beer with my own money. Also, I'm excited to have Saturdays and Sundays free again."
By the end of finals period, he became acutely aware of how his friendships would change over time. "All my friends here, they're so close," he said. They're almost family, and the concept of not knowing next when you'll see them again is hard. And in that way they're not family."
Jenn Tlumak
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Tlumak came to Dartmouth "because I wanted something different geographically and culturally." She has spent most of her extracurricular time with the Tucker Foundation's Book Buddies program, first as a volunteer and, later, as the chair of the organization.
"I've worked with the same girl the whole time. That's been a great way to step outside of the Dartmouth bubble and form a meaningful friendship with this girl," she said about her book buddy. "Chairing has really brought me a lot closer into the Tucker Foundation and I feel like it is my place."
Though Tlumak does not yet know what her post-graduation plans will be, she hopes to find a job that corresponds with the same values that inspired her to volunteer at Tucker and to write her senior history thesis on the environmental justice movement.
At the beginning of Spring term, Tlumak considered finding a job in the environmental movement -- either with an environmental nonprofit organization, at an environmental law firm, or a governmental position. She had spent her off-terms participating in related internship programs, and felt she had the background and conviction to be successful in the environmental movement.
Her other option was teaching, but she would have to find a private school opening since she never obtained public school teacher certification.
"It's not very planned," she explained at the time. Tlumak said she was vacillating between the two paths because "To me, environmentalism is the most important issue facing our society. Or teaching. It's great, because it's a really direct way to affect other peoples' lives -- to give people the tools to become good political actors."
She added, "I really want to try to help the world in some way. I want to put the education and all the advantages I've had in my life to make a difference. I also think that would be personally fulfilling."
But, focused on school work, Tlumak never put her energy into a job search. As a result, she is still without plans for the next year.
What she has decided, though, is to abandon the teaching option. "These kids have been afforded all sorts of benefits, and you have less of an impact," she said of the students she would teach if she worked at a private school.
Halfway through the term, Tlumak was neither fully confident nor significantly worried about how her career plans would turn out. "I definitely go through waves. Most of the time, I'm like, 'eh, it will work out.' Definitely at times it is stressful, particularly as Spring term ticks away, especially when you feel you're the only one. Right now I kind of have something else to worry about, which is my thesis."
She is particularly interesting in finding a job located in Boston, Washington, D.C., or San Diego because she knows people who will be living in those places. Tlumak explained that, more than her career, she is worried about how her social life will change when she makes the transition from a college environment to a big city.
"In the end, a job isn't everything. You go home every night. I'm a little anxious about who I'm with and how those relationships end up working out," she said.
By the end of the term, Tlumak had completed her thesis and was looking forward to getting it bound. "I pulled my first all-nighter. And of course I got sick the next day," she said. "I feel proud, I'm definitely glad I did it, both in terms of academic stuff and in developing a really close relationship with Associate Professor of History [Annelise] Orleck."
Tlumak hopes her upcoming years will be characterized by her belief in "following your dreams, even if you don't know what your dreams are."
Because her plans are not solid, she is torn between excitement about a new start and apprehension at leaving behind the people she has come to know while at Dartmouth.
"I'm looking forward to growing up and doing some type of activity that defines where I want to go in my life and who I want to do it with. I think that can happen in a lot of places and a lot of ways," she explained. "And I feel sad leaving the individual people. They'll be all over the place. I know I'm going to cry on graduation day. I guess I can't wear mascara. I never do, but."
She remains confident that her job situation will work out. "There's so much out there," she said. "I'm still flexible. I still tend to look at environmental nonprofit groups. I think the future of the environmental movement lies in combining environmental and justice issues, so I would prefer to work with a group that interconnects those two things."
David Nelson
Born in Trinidad, Nelson lived in that Caribbean country through his 19th year. After completing high school, he took a year off from classes in which he worked at a local bank and, in search of a change of pace, applied to American colleges.
One of Nelson's first impressions of the College was its cool temperatures. "It's cold. My first two years here, I was very tolerant of the cold. But this year, I've been very intolerant."
The son of a lawyer, Nelson applied to law schools toward the beginning of his senior year, but did so with significant apprehensions. "Law school is something I'd like to do, but it's also something my parents want me to do," he explained at the beginning of Spring term. "I also enjoy foreign languages, travelling, and academia. So I'm not sure yet."
Indeed, Nelson said his best times at Dartmouth were spent on foreign study programs abroad. A double French and Spanish major, he studied in Buenos Aires and Paris and worked as a teaching assistant on the Barcelona LSA.
On campus, too, Nelson has been heavily involved with multicultural activities. He has worked as both a French and Spanish drill instructor and participated in Afri-Caso, Alianza Latina and the dance troupe Gumboot. In addition, he has worked at the Collis Center information desk and as a Sexual Abuse Peer Advisor.
But throughout his time at Dartmouth, Nelson also felt that his international status made his experience more complicated. He said that his financial burden was heavier than that of most American students, and that some college offices seemed unaware of the additional challenges facing international students, especially when it came to housing.
"The expectation for achievement is greater. You want to graduate well," he said. "College is more about getting a bachelors degree for international students, not about finding yourself. There's always that pressure: you must achieve and continue to achieve."
While still waiting to find out his admissions status from law schools, Nelson was convinced that, if he were to become a lawyer, he would have to focus on international law in order to be interested in his work.
"That I can only do one type of law, does that mean I like law, or does that mean I like languages, and I'm trying to put a spin on law?" he asked himself. Nelson was also considering applying to graduate school for languages during the year following graduation.
But his choice was made for him.
Letters informing Nelson that he was not admitted to Columbia, mainly because of financial aid reasons, and he was not interested in anywhere else..
All of a sudden, Nelson discovered that he would have to work. And all of a sudden, he had to plan the one year for which he could remain in the United States without losing his visa.
Nelson began considering new options, such as teaching English in France or Latin America. He considered working as a software translator on the French Rivieria. Above all, though, he remained unexcited about his need to work.
"I think that work is a confusing experience. I think that sometimes it's too hierarchical and you can't say what you think. And I really like studying and that freedom. That's why I don't want to work until I finish law or graduate school, so I'm not at an entry level position," he explained.
Bogged down in his thesis on exile Haitian literature -- and managing a schedule that began each day at 7:00 a.m. and ended each night at 3:00 a.m. -- he was unable to either wallow in the disappointment of his law school status or begin a job search afresh.
"It's kind of hard when you have a plan and it doesn't turn out the way you want and then you suddenly have to do a quick shift," he said at the time. "And there are some people who are getting in, and you're like, 'what about me?'"
But several weeks later, as the term drew to a close, Nelson became more optimistic about the year ahead.
He became increasingly ready to move beyond Dartmouth because "Dartmouth doesn't change." But he also found himself nostalgic about missing certain friends, which, he said, was comforting in a strange way.
Although he plans to reapply to law school, and apply for the first time to graduate programs, Nelson has begun to feel relieved that he is not about to be thrown into a profession he was unsure of in the first place.
He said, "I always questioned going into law in the back of my mind because every time I told people I was thinking about going into law, they would say, 'but you just don't seem like a lawyer.' I feel that by going into law, I would be giving up languages, I would be losing something."
Nelson said he is looking forward to a year in which he can "just take what I've learned and put it into context," but that he also feels somewhat anxious.
"I've always been the kind of person who knew what he was doing 10 years in advance. And now, suddenly, I have no idea. And my parents are worried," he said.
What Nelson is sure about, he said, is that he wants to spend more time abroad before returning to Trinidad. "It's not that I don't want to go home," he said. "It's just that I haven't reached the stage of my life yet where I can say, 'OK, I've done everything there is to do. Now I can go home.'"