Members of the Class of 2009 may wonder where they will go after completing their four years at the College. Here, we look at three particularly interesting post-Dartmouth career paths, as experienced by alumni who graduated 20, 30 and 40 years ago.
David Spindler '89
David Spindler '89, an Asian Studies major at the College, now researches the history of the Great Wall of China. He first took Chinese during his sophomore year at Dartmouth and enrolled in the Foreign Study Program in Beijing during his sophomore summer to further improve his language abilities.
"Certainly that was my first introduction to living in another country," he said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
After graduating from Dartmouth, Spindler spent a year in Taiwan before moving to China where he is now a permanent resident. In China, he conducts independent research on the wall. His work includes fieldwork to study unfamiliar sections of the wall first hand.
"I was out the day before yesterday and I wanted to look at close range at a signal tower I saw from half a mile away," Spindler said. "When I was hiking to that, I found a short section of wall I never knew was there."
Due to his expertise, Spindler also spends time at the wall speaking to tour groups that visit the site. He studies Ming Dynasty texts in an attempt to uncover details about battle sites and other past occurrences.
Spindler said his fluency in Chinese is essential for his research on ancient texts from the Ming Dynasty era.
Currently, he is working with a photographer to recreate images from battles the occurred on the wall, using the perspectives of both the raiders and defenders.
"We think we have a unique angle here combining photography and history," Spindler said.
When Spindler completes this research, he said he plans to publish a book on the Great Wall's history aimed at a popular audience.
Because his research is in what Spindler called a "very small, understudied field," he said he receives no funding from grants or other sources.
"I just sort of went out and did this, I didn't plan it carefully," he said.
Spindler said his most fond memories of Dartmouth did not involve his time in China, but instead his trip to the woods for cross-country ski team training camp. Besides competing with the ski team for three years, Spindler was also a member of the heavyweight crew team throughout his Dartmouth career.
Carol Shaw '79
Carol Shaw '79, an English major who also studied business while at Dartmouth, now works as a writer and consultant. She said that studying both English and business provided her with the intellectual foundation she needed for her future career.
"The first thing I did was worked on Wall Street after graduation," she said. "I would say that the economics I took at Dartmouth gave me a good base for understanding the business world and analyzing world markets."
Shaw, who is currently working as an independent consultant with her company Shaw Consulting, has previously worked as a vice president for Lehman Brothers and as a writer and editor for Standard & Poor's.
"I'm looking at organizations that are involved in philanthropic efforts, and on doing research and writing advocacy materials for organizations in education, ecology and global health," Shaw said.
Although people have criticized her English major as "useless," Shaw said it provided her with skills necessary set to succeed later in life.
Shaw came to Dartmouth less than a decade following co-education. While at the College, Shaw and her classmates started an all-female club, Cameron Burleigh, because the College lacked sororities at that time. Shaw served as the co-chair of the club, which reached a membership of 200. Shaw also participated in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program
"There were no sororities on campus, so we wanted to reciprocate and throw parties for our [fraternity] friends," she said.
Shaw's most memorable experience at Dartmouth was her Language Study Abroad in France, she said.
"Going on foreign study to France really opened my eyes to other parts of the world that I hadn't seen before. I traveled through Europe, studied great literature written in French and got to see art and museum collections."
Paul Tuhus '69
An economics major at Dartmouth, Tuhus first worked as a bank examiner for the federal government before gaining his MBA from Harvard University. Tuhus then established his own printing and copying business, and now works with colleges and universities to provide international tours to adults and students.
The tours, which are designed to be educational and feature lectures from professors and various experts, are offered by a number of educational institutions, including Dartmouth, Stanford University and Harvard University.
Tuhus said his current occupation has allowed him to travel extensively, noting that he has visited more than 100 countries.
"My most memorable experience in my career is ultimately finding out that I can travel and make money out of it," he added.
Tuhus said he wished he had branched out more while at Dartmouth.
"That was one of my regrets. I didn't explore different course disciplines and reach out to learn more different things," he said.
Tuhus said that the most important lesson he learned while at Dartmouth was not an academic one instead, Tuhus said that the best tools for the future that Dartmouth gave to him was the ability to socialize with his peers.
"As much as anything, it was personal relations learning to work with others, recognizing the different things people can offer, solving problems, working towards a goal," he said.
During his time at Dartmouth, which Tuhus called "the best four years of my life," he was heavily involved in the Interfraternity Council as the president of Alpha Theta fraternity, and also worked for the Jack-o-Lantern.
Tuhus cited his own career, which took many turns before he started his current work, as evidence that graduates don't need to know their future plans.
"There's plenty of time to decide what you really want to do," he said. "And if you're doing something and not enjoying it, do something else."
