Eight recent graduates are working for various campus offices during the school year through the Presidential Fellows program, which offers them an opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the College.
The fellows began work in the summer in areas across campus including finance and administration, advancement, wellness, global health, the Dean of the College's office, the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost.
Most of the fellows are in administrative positions, except for the global health and wellness fellows.
Fellows gain marketing, research and writing skills from the program, and receive help and guidance from advisors and their superiors, said Nariah Broadus, director of outreach and development in the President's Office and the program's overseer. Fellows, who are typically involved in conducting research, also plan events, compile data and support department leaders.
Fellows are often able to offer a different perspective from other staff members.
"We kind of have a finger on the pulse of campus," Dean of the College fellow Jeremy Guardiola '12 said. "It's kind of that nuanced understanding and familiarity with the campus community."
Office of the Provost fellow Amelia Raether '13 said that many of the skills she has developed will be useful even if she doesn't pursue a career in higher education.
"It's broader skills," Raether said. "It's learning how to work efficiently in an office setting and work in a group of people and report to authority figures and whatnot."
After a year as an employee of the College, fellows generally obtain a greater appreciation for College functions.
"I think it's really easy to take for granted, as a student, how many moving parts there are to make a university like Dartmouth operate," Advancement Office fellow Jay Webster '13 said.
Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Service Global Health Fellow Emily Fletcher '13 said her fellowship is "more programmatic" than the others.
Her workload includes meeting with stakeholders and helping with projects related to Haiti, Peru and South Africa.
Fletcher traveled to Haiti last week with an infectious diseases doctor and a nurse practitioner from DHMC, both of whom work on global projects related to HIV and AIDS. Fletcher helped with logistics, coordination and other smaller parts of their research projects.
"It was a beneficial trip and a valuable experience because a lot of my work is related to Haiti, and it's hard to understand the context of any global health work without on-the-ground experience, so I was very lucky to go," Fletcher said.
Later in the year, Fletcher hopes to have the opportunity to take more ownership of some projects.
"My understanding is that in all of the fellowships, and I know in my fellowship, there is a lot of flexibility and a lot of opportunity for choosing different projects along the way and redirecting what your focus is throughout the year," Fletcher said.
Broadus said the College's presidential transition has not significantly impacted the fellows this year.
While all members of the workplace feel the impact of a new leader, fellows may feel it to a lesser extent than do the standing employees in the office.
"[It] is a benefit because you're coming in fresh, and what your experience is this year is all that you've ever known of that office," Broadus said.
Webster said he has enjoyed observing both Hanlon and senior vice president for advancement Bob Lasher.
"It's really exciting to see a university in transition like this," Webster said.
Guardiola, a second-year fellow, said he viewed last year as being more of a transition year. Guardiola was hired by former College President Jim Yong Kim but eventually worked for both interim president Carol Folt and Hanlon.
Fellows generally choose to apply for a number of reasons, and although many may not be interested in working in higher education, the yearlong program eases fellows into regular work life and helps them figure out a more defined career path.
"I figured it was a good opportunity to learn a lot of work applicable skills and also to see what goes on behind the scenes of Dartmouth and to give me a viewpoint into higher education and that as a possible field to enter," Raether said.
The four other Presidential Fellows this year are finance and administration fellow Jennifer Jaco '13, Wellness Office fellow Nirali Patel '13 and President's Office fellows Holly Ceplikas '13 and Edita Robinson '13.
Fletcher and Webster are former members of The Dartmouth senior staff. Raether is a former member of The Dartmouth staff.