As soon as College President Phil Hanlon’s email about the unprecedented $100 million donation reached the student body, we all asked two questions: who and why? While the pool of candidates for the former query is small enough to make an educated guess, we will probably never know for certain unless the donating family decides to reveal itself. As for the latter, I’ll take a stab: the donation is an affirmation from alumni who truly believe in this institution and have benefited from the College’s rich offerings.
For my last four years, I have been the beneficiary of the love that alumni hold for our school. For instance, Samuel L. Barnes provided scholarships for students from Western Washington for years. Barnes was hardly alone in his generosity, as College students across the globe have also benefited from other alumni’s wishes that future students receive the stellar education that they had once received. Alumni kindness also extends beyond financial aid; whenever I find myself in a major city for an extended period of time, I Google local physicians who have attended Dartmouth. I give them a short call or send an email, explaining that I am a current Dartmouth student hoping to shadow them at their hospitals or clinics. No alumnus I’ve contacted has ever turned me down. During downtime, we shoot the breeze about things that allow us to connect beyond time, like the Homecoming bonfire, breakfast at Lou’s and beloved professors who have served the College for decades. They have given me brutally honest advice regarding job prospects and have set up additional shadowing opportunities with their colleagues. The strength of the Dartmouth network is not limited to professionally established alumni, either. Out-of-the-blue emails to more recent alumni have yielded advice for scientific poster competitions, inside tips about literary agencies and qualified career advice.
Dartmouth is not an institution that belongs to a small group of current students. It is a school held together by the work of administrators, the knowledge of professors and the memories of alumni. Yes, Dartmouth has been the subject of negative press lately, but, ultimately, the College will not be defined by fleeting headlines. Rather, Dartmouth will be judged on the basis of the men and women it has educated and what they have gone on to do with their lives.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know students from seven different classes, from the ’11s to the ’17s. I have met students who will change this world. I think of them as tomorrow’s Nelson Rockefeller ’30, Timothy Geithner ’83, Louise Erdrich ’76 and K. Barry Sharpless ’63. I’m willing to bet that I’m currently acquainted with a future acclaimed movie critic, a future president of a major medical society, a future editor of a renowned publication and several future highly successful venture capitalists. Perhaps those who are reading this column can recognize themselves. Unsurprisingly, these individuals, like the famous alumni before them, have taken advantage of Dartmouth’s academics, extracurricular activities, access to professors, access to funding and grants and many other resources to start distinguishing themselves as leaders. Those who get the most out of their time here are those who love it, and those who love it make it possible for future students to love this small school.
The current tumult at the College, whether or not it results in significant policy revisions, is but a blip in the institution’s distinguished 244-year-old history, like the many other protests that preceded it and the many others that will likely follow. No matter what, Dartmouth will continue to change and to produce new generations of leaders. The best thing that any of us could do for the College and for ourselves is to make use of its resources, including the people around us, and learn as much as we can. We should strive to become the happiest and the most successful individuals we can possibly be to live our lives to the fullest and bring honor and respect to our alma mater.