The nine participants in this year's Presidential Fellows program, a College initiative that employs recent alumni to work in various departments began their work at the College this past Summer term. These fellows benefit from working in an environment in which they are comfortable and familiar, providing insight into student life for the offices in which they work, according to planning and design fellow Si Jie Loo '12.
This year marks the largest class of fellows since the program's 2009 inception. The current fellows are employed across numerous areas, including the President's Office, Provost's Office, Global Health, Advancement, Planning and Design and Health and Wellness. The fellows collaborate with existing College staff on new initiatives for which it would be "helpful or advantageous," according to the President's Office's Director of Outreach and Project Development Nariah Broadus, who oversees the Presidential Fellows program.
Loo said she developed a newfound appreciation for the intense behind-the-scenes work necessary to keep the College running. The program has the unique opportunity to "give students reassurance that things are actually going on and their concerns are being taken into consideration," according to global health fellow Kalina Newmark '11.
As the program has grown, it has shifted its focus away from the President's Office, Broadus said. Loo said that it is not likely that offices that support the program will lose interest, as the fellows who work in those offices serve as valuable resources to the College.
Provost's Office fellow Rachel Sarnoff '12 said her ability to effectively contact students and knowledge about the ideal night of the week to program an event is invaluable around the office.
"Having a recent graduate in there is really helpful to keep the connection to the student body," Sarnoff said.
The global health fellows' strong backgrounds in public health work have also proved beneficial to the program, Newmark said. She served as a fellow in the President's Office during the 2011-2012 academic year and then transitioned to global health this year. In her work as a global health fellow, Newmark worked to formalize a partnership between the Indian Health Service and the College, allowing her to and pursue Native American advocacy, an issue on which she focused as an undergraduate.
Amita Kulkarni '10, who previously developed curriculum at Weill Cornell Medical College, said she saw the global health fellow position as a logical continuation of her work. As a fellow, Kulkarni coordinates efforts in Haiti "on the ground working with the community, patients and doctors," she said.
Specialized fellowships are a natural transition from to undergraduate studies to a career in the same field, former fellow Jennifer Murray '09 said. Both Newmark and Kulkarni said that the experience will help point them toward the careers they might ultimately pursue.
While fellowships relating to global health can lead to long-term career opportunities at Dartmouth, fellows who work in administrative offices are less likely to seek similar employment opportunities, Broadus said.
President's Office fellow Jeremy Guardiola '12 said that one of the main advantages of being a fellow is having to deal with issues as they arise.
"Being a fellow is advantageous in that it's an opportunity to gain some valuable insight on organizational structure," he said.
Fellows in the President and Provost's Offices gather data, analyze information and make presentations, which are skills useful for fields like consulting, Broadus said. Alumni from the program benefit from the presence of a support system, as learning comes from monthly development training and does not only happen on the job, she said.
Some fellows said that they simply appreciated the program for the opportunity to remain in Hanover for another year.
"When I started applying for jobs senior year, I started looking back on my time at Dartmouth, and I realized there were some things I wanted to see through or remain involved in," Guardiola said.
For offices outside of Parkhurst Hall, employing a Presidential Fellow is a "pretty significant commitment" and requires that the office serve as both a mentor and a manager for the fellows, Broadus said. Fellows are not thrown into a work environment without an orientation period similar to what an intern or first-year employee elsewhere might have, she said.
The four other Presidential Fellows this year are President's Office fellow Tyler Melancon '12, Provost's Office fellow Peter Hagan '11, advancement fellow Angela Cheng '12 and planning and design fellow Jyotsna Ghosh '12.
Kulkarni is a former member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
