We’ve come a long way in the two years since Dartmouth Outing Club’s First Year Trips, orientation week and that fateful Sunday when we shook College President Phil Hanlon’s hand and began our Dartmouth careers. Remember when our first friends at Dartmouth were trippees or teammates? Those many evenings we spent with our undergraduate advisors and floormates?
In the past two years, we’ve learned a lot about ourselves, have had the opportunities to meet more students our age and older than we are, watched another class run around the bonfire and have had to said goodbye to the ’14s and ’15s. In the fall, we’ll have yet another new experience — becoming upperclassmen.
Each term, finals period arrives abruptly and we have little time to catch our breaths before spending hours in the library, going over our notes and wondering why we didn’t pay closer attention in lecture. The pace of a ten-week term leaves little time for reflection about how things might have changed for each of us after five or six terms here. In an effort to understand how far we’ve come, we interviewed five ’17s about how their friendships have changed and why.
Caleb Caldwell ’17
How did you meet your closest friends?
CC: I met my closest friends through my freshman trip, classes and my fraternity.
How has your friend group changed?
CC: Freshman year it felt like my friend groups were decided based on who was on my freshman floor. I’m not as close to my freshman floor as I used to be, and I think that’s because I don’t run into them as often. I’ve gotten to know more people just by being at Dartmouth longer, and taking more classes with different people has definitely expanded my friend group. Now when I want to see my friends it’s more deliberate, and I make more plans to see them. After joining my fraternity I met a lot of new people, especially upperclassmen and even recent alumni.
Erin Czerwinski ’17
How did you meet your closest friends?
EC: I met my closest friends on my freshman floor.
How has your friend group changed?
EC: I was a lot closer with my trippees during freshman fall. After that, we all got involved with different things and grew apart. I met my closest group of friends during freshman winter, and we’ve been close ever since. When I joined my sorority my friend group got bigger, but I already knew a lot of the girls I’ve gotten closer with. Being affiliated has allowed me to meet new people, but my best friends from freshman year are still my best friends. I was worried about not being as close with friends who had off-terms or terms abroad, but once they came back it was like they had never left.
Dana Wieland ’17
How did you meet your closest friends?
DW: I met my closest friends through the Dartmouth Outing Club and the floor above my freshman floor.
How has your friend group changed?
DW: I was never close with people on my freshman trip after Trips were over, apart from one who is involved in activities that we both participate in. I’ve been heavily involved in Dartmouth Sustainability and I’ve been living in the Sustainable Living Center for the entire term now, and I’ve gotten to know people a lot better through that. I’ve also gotten to know more upperclassmen through the DOC. My closest friends fluctuate based on the term and people’s involvement in different groups.
Caleb Kim ’17
How did you meet your closest friends?
CK: I met my closest friends through Agape Christian Fellowship, Korean Students Association and my fraternity.
How has your friend group changed?
CK: I was never really close with my freshman floor or my trippees. We used to see each other occasionally, but after my trip leader graduated we grew apart. Two of my freshman floormates joined my fraternity with me, so I’ve gotten closer to them and the other brothers in my house. Each term I get close with people who are in classes with me, but I don’t usually stay close with them after the class is over.
Alexis Wallace ’17
How did you meet your closest friends?
AW: I met my closest friends through my freshman trip and my freshman floor.
How has your friend group changed?
AW: I’ve kept the same best friends since freshman year. As I got involved with more groups on campus, I met new people and made more friends, but I am still very close with friends from my freshman floor and people from my trip. I joined my sorority with a lot of my friends, so I got even closer with some of those friends. I’ve remained really close with some of my friends who didn’t join the same house as me. This summer, I’ve gotten involved in different organizations, and I think that will be a great way for me to make even more friends. In particular, friends I’ve made through dance groups have become some of my closest friends because of all the time we spend together.
