Three Dartmouth alumni have been included in the 2018 edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which profiled 30 successful figures under 30 years of age across 20 different fields.
Charlie Friedland ’10 works as an investing partner at Geodesic Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in U.S. technology companies and helps them expand to Asian markets. Molly Grear ’11 Th’12, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington set to graduate this summer, is studying the environmental impacts of renewable energy sources in the ocean, specifically, underwater turbines. Sourav Sinha ’12 is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Oncolinx, which develops antibody-drug conjugates to mitigate many side effects of chemotherapy.
Each alumni attributed some of their success to taking a variety of classes while at Dartmouth and the ability to take classes across departments. Despite having different majors, Friedland and Grear both found themselves taking classes at the Thayer School of Engineering during their time at the College.
“Overall, being able to take classes across sectors and departments, it really just teaches you overall how to think and problem solve,” Friedland said. “That overall baseline education that you get at Dartmouth has been unbelievably beneficial to my career.”
Grear also praised Dartmouth’s liberal arts approach to engineering, which allowed her to take many biology classes despite being an engineering major. She stated that her diverse class range prepared her to work as an environmental engineer by giving her practical context for her work, whereas a curriculum featuring only engineering classes might not have prepared her as well.
Sinha, a molecular biochemistry major, recalls taking classes, such as ones in the sociology department, that forced him to adapt to new ways of thinking. He added that he appreciated being exposed to many academic fields.
In addition to taking diverse course loads, the alumni also capitalized on Dartmouth’s many undergraduate opportunities. Already experienced in scientific research before Dartmouth, Sinha worked at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center during his time at the College, which granted him more exposure to the medical field.
Friedland conducted an independent study with the environmental studies department, which he said taught him to develop his own independent ideas and follow his own path. He said he believes these studies are important for teaching students how to think independently, so that they know their own value when they begin working professionally on teams.
Similarly, Grear went on the biology foreign study program, which went to Costa Rica and Little Cayman, where students studied marine biology and tropical ecology while learning to scuba dive.
Despite taking advantage of similar opportunities while at Dartmouth, each alumnus took a very different path towards their respective professions. According to Sinha, he had always been interested in biomedical research. He began his professional journey immediately after graduation, when he earned his master’s degree in biomedical science. However, while he initially planned to pursue a Ph.D., Sinha instead founded Oncolinx, which he began full-time after finishing his master’s program. After living on both coasts and training at NASA, he set up his labs and research for Oncolinx in Buffalo, New York.
He said he takes pleasure in the “high risk, high impact” work that he does and hopes to make “progress in a field that has no traction.”
“We really want to make a big impact for cancer patients and their families,” he said.
Grear said she knew immediately knew what she wanted to do after graduating.
“When I came out of Dartmouth, I really wanted to engineer [turbines],” she said. “I wanted to design the blades and make the systems.”
However, she said she quickly realized that she might need to change her focus slightly, to build more environmentally friendly systems.
“As I started working in this industry, I sort of found out that some of the societal or environmental concerns can often be the things that are causing the industry to slow down more than the engineering concerns,” she said.
Now, she designs underwater turbines that do not harm sea life such as porpoises, seals and whales.
After college, Friedland worked for Morgan Stanley for two years as an investment banking analyst. From there, he worked as an associate at Summit Partners, a private equity investment firm. After a year working as a strategist for ipsy, he began working at Geodesic.
Friedland emphasized that students should enjoy their time on campus and make the most of their Dartmouth experiences.
“Dartmouth has so much to offer and you want to take advantage of all of it,” he said.
