Selected from a pool of over 900 applicants, Peter Noteboom '05 was recently awarded the Marshall Scholarship, sending him to the United Kingdom for two years of study next fall. Noteboom plans to earn a master's degree in economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University.
Each Marshall Scholarship, valued at approximately $60,000, covers the full expense of study in the United Kingdom. Noteboom was one of 43 American students awarded a scholarship this year.
He credits his interest in studying at Oxford to an inherent love for travel, which he said was his original reason for applying for the scholarship. Before arriving at Dartmouth, he deferred enrollment for a year in order to travel extensively.
Having traveled significantly prior to Dartmouth, Noteboom did not participate in a Dartmouth off-campus program, hoping instead to take advantage of on-campus opportunities. Now, the Marshall Scholarship will allow him to go abroad once more.
Noteboom's fondness for travel also led him to Tanzania for three months. In exchange for a tent to sleep in and a free chance to see Africa, Noteboom volunteered on a game preserve to prevent poaching.
Those three months sparked Noteboom's desire to help impoverished African countries, an interest which would ultimately lead him to Oxford.
"Oxford has the best departments for my interests," Noteboom said. "They have a strong economics department and the forefront experts in African development economics."
Noteboom said he will devote his time abroad to gaining a better understanding of African economies so that he will be able to help those countries upon completing his time at Oxford.
In the future, he sees himself working for an aid organization that is active in Africa, such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund.
The British Parliament established the Marshall Scholarships in 1953 to honor the Marshall Plan, which provided U.S. aid to Europe after World War II. The awards are intended to reinforce and strengthen the relationship between British and American leaders, citizens, governments and institutions.
Captain of the men's heavyweight crew team at Dartmouth, Noteboom hopes to further the British-American relationship on the water by rowing in England. If Noteboom is allowed to row at Oxford, he will continue his training with hopes of rowing in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Noteboom said he was honored by his selection for the Marshall Scholarship and commented that he wished more Dartmouth students knew about the opportunity and shared in that honor.
"I know a lot of well-qualified Dartmouth seniors who, for whatever reason, chose not to apply." Noteboom said, "I urge more Dartmouth students to apply."
