Following a calculation of final grades, Sandeep Ramesh '05 from West Bloomfield, Mich., was named valedictorian for the class of 2005. Ramesh, a history major and English minor, finished his Dartmouth career with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
Ramesh credits his academic achievement to a laid-back attitude toward classes. "I just took a chill attitude toward school, and tried not to focus too hard on my grades. I also found a group of professors highly supportive of my work, which really formed the cornerstone of my success here," said Ramesh.
Ramesh was very pleased when he was informed of the honor. "It's quite a gift to be able to give the commencement address," he said.
Ramesh spent his senior year as a Senior Fellow, an intensively competitive program that allows students to pursue independent projects in great depth. Senior fellows are exempt from major requirements and do not need to enroll in classes.
Ramesh's Senior Fellow project examined "The Ethics of the Secret," drawing upon critical theory, psychoanalysis, political and legal issues, classical literature, religious thought and film studies to explore abstract philosophical concepts. His work garnered high praise from his advisor, French & Italian and Comparative Literature Professor Lawrence Kritzman. According to Kritzman, Ramesh's final thesis was, "The most brilliant piece of undergraduate writing I have seen in over twenty years."
Ramesh's thesis involved many hours reading, watching movies, and analyzing works of art. "It was a completely cross-disciplniary project," Ramesh said. "I delved into a mess of materials, and in a weird way, everything came together."
Despite his academic success, the most memorable parts of college for Ramesh were the mundane. "Some of my most important memories involved just hanging out with friends and enjoying ourselves," Ramesh said. "The normal day-to-day events are those which become extraordinary in the end."
Ramesh said that Dartmouth aided his academic pursuits in a number of ways. He described the Senior Fellow program as "amazing." "I've been able to pursue what I want to pursue. I haven't been bound by a curriculum or major. I was able to pursue my own interests and make my own culminating experience," he said. In addition, he credits a number of Dartmouth faculty members for their support. He said, "The professors have been fantastic in and of themselves. They have been tremendously supportive and have genuinely cared about my academic development."
Ramesh earned 16 academic citations for outstanding work in his Dartmouth career. In addition, he was a Rufus Choate Scholar, with a grade point average in the top five percent of undergraduates, all four years. He received the Phi Beta Kappa Sophomore Prize for highest grade point average, and was inducted early into the organization.
As a junior, Ramesh was a Presidential Scholar, and served as a research assistant for Professor Susannah Heschel of the Jewish Studies and Religion Departments. Ramesh studied the interaction between Judaism and Christianity through theoretical models that ran the gamut from post-colonial theory to the work of late French philosopher Jacques Derrida.
In addition, Ramesh won the Gary H. Plotnick Prize for best research paper in Jewish Studies twice, the German Consulate Prize for outstanding achievement in German literary studies and the Sigurd S. Larmon Scholarship for excellence in debate.
This past summer, Ramesh interned at the Law Offices of Gowda, specializing in Immigration Law. During his sophomore summer, he organized a major academic seminar series at Dartmouth on French literature and philosophy.
Ramesh also devoted much of his time at Dartmouth to extracurricular pursuits. He was a varsity member of the Dartmouth Forensic Union, the college's two-person competitive policy debate team. Additionally, he helped found the Dartmouth chapter of the United Nations Children's Fund, and served as the organization's treasurer since its inception fall term 2003.
This summer, Ramesh plans to "just hang out," play guitar, visit friends, travel and "decompress." In the fall, Ramesh will be headed to Yale Law School. He is undecided about his plans after Yale. He mentioned earning a Ph.D in legal academics and teaching at a law school as a possibility, though he can see "only as far as Yale."
Mikhail Akulov '05, from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Christine Schott '05, from Springfield, Va., were named co-salutatorians with grade point averages of 3.98.
Akulov, a history and economics double major, received eight citations for his academic work, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He has also served as a teaching assistant in the Mathematics Department, and has been a research assistant for several professors in the Jewish Studies Department. This summer he will study French at Middlebury College, and hopes to pursue a graduate program in history.
Schott majored in English literature and creative writing. She received a Waterhouse Research Grant to research medieval monasticism to prepare for her thesis in creative writing. At Dartmouth, she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, sang with X.Ado, Dartmouth's Christian a cappella group, and was highly involved with Aquinas House. Next year, she will work as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps at the Philadelphia Unemployment Project.