You Lucky '10s!!

Today was bittersweet for me. I had my first serious job interview this morning and afterwards, came home and realized this first job interview is the first step in preparing to conclude my Dartmouth experience.

I have spent the fall term entirely immersed in my culminating experience in the Geography department writing a thesis proposal, applying for funding through the Dickey Center to travel to Kenya to do research, and ultimately maximizing both my resources and my major at Dartmouth. Winter term was jam-packed finishing my French minor, my Quantitative Distributive Science distributive requirement, and organizing Speak Out, a night to remember and discuss sexual violence on college campuses. Now, it is spring term, I am ten weeks away from graduation and it is high time for me to be thinking about my future.

I've been thinking about you 2010's all afternoon with feelings of both great excitement but also twinges of jealously and wistfulness thinking about the extraordinary four years you have ahead of you that I must so soon leave behind. I so distinctly remember receiving my acceptance letter from Dartmouth. I skipped a Student Council meeting to RUN home and check the mail. I got the Big Envelope that day and raced back to the council meeting in time to make an unnecessarily loud and excited entrance beaming and holding my envelope. (In retrospect I suppose that was a rather obnoxious move but at the time, the thought didn't even cross my mind; I was SO excited to be admitted to DARTMOUTH!!!!!!!)

And now, 10 weeks from graduation and looking at the future, I am so sad to be leaving. Dartmouth has given me my greatest friends, most challenging personal experiences, and most inspiring intellectual endeavors. I walked out of my interview excited about my future and feeling ready to take the tools, both intellectual and interpersonal, that I have learned at Dartmouth and bring them to bare on whatever awaits me in the "real world" come June but as I am sitting here composing this, the thought of life after Dartmouth is unwelcome and painfully uncertain.

2010’s, welcome to Dartmouth. It is now your great privilege to make this institution and all it has to offer your own. Although there may be times when you bemoan an all-nighter spent in the library or an unfortunate snowstorm in April, never once take the opportunities and inspiration this institution will give you for granted.