Amarinder Grewal '99, a computer science major from Calcutta, India who received 34 A grades and one A- in his four years at Dartmouth, is the valedictorian for the Class of 1999.
Grewal has earned six academic citations - one each in math, math and social sciences, physics, computer science, astronomy and film studies - and has been a Rufus Choate Scholar each of his four years at Dartmouth as a member of the top five percent of his class each year.
When Grewal arrived at Dartmouth for his freshman year, it was his first trip to the United States. In an interview with The Dartmouth, he smiled as he recalled the information he used to receive in the mail from the College's International Office which was supposed to prepare him for some aspects of American culture.
"I remember reading that students were going to say 'What's up?' but not expect an answer," he said.
After adjusting to Dartmouth and the harsh winters of New Hampshire - he had never seen snow before his freshman winter - Grewal became involved in a number of activities, including serving as vice-president of Milan, the South Asian Students Organization and starting a cricket club.
Grewal said the club, made up mostly of international students, gets the chance to play a few games of cricket a term, mostly by travelling south to Columbia University or west to Middlebury College in Vermont.
Grewal said he has not found it difficult to adjust socially to Dartmouth as an international student, although he said he does feel there is a problem at the College of self-segregation among international students.
"I really don't know who is to blame for that. Whether they're driven to it or they're doing it out of choice," Grewal said, adding that he is probably friends with more Indian students than non-Indians, but that he has many friends who are American and is living with three American students this term.
Grewal said his education in India prepared him well for Dartmouth, teaching him not only academic subject matter but also "how to do well."
"In every class I thought there was a system for doing well," he said. "It wasn't just blindly putting in the hours."
Although he agreed that grades are important, Grewal said "they have never been the world to me" and said being valedictorian has never really been a focus. Only twice, for his sophomore summer and senior spring, did Grewal say he intentionally picked classes in which he knew he could do well without working quite as hard.
The one term when he received a grade other than an A, Grewal was in his fifth straight term of taking classes.
"I was a little worn out," Grewal said of the fall of his sophomore year, when he received his lone A-. Since then, whether it has been playing cricket or kayaking down the river, Grewal said he has tried to find time to do the things which help him get his mind off his work.
He said he was excited Thursday morning when he was informed officially that we would be the valedictorian, although as of Thursday evening, as he headed off to see the new Austin Powers movie on its opening night, he was still unsure what he planned to say in his speech at Commencement today.
"I don't want to go high and mighty about my place in the world," said the senior who will head to Seattle to work as a programmer for the Microsoft Corporation after graduation, a job Grewal said he is excited about and has thought about since he got further involved with the computer science major.
Grewal said he has never felt pressure to get good grades from his parents, but said doing well academically is something he's always felt is important.
"My main objective has always been to learn the material," he said before pausing and adding with a smile, "But I'd be lying if I said the grades didn't matter."
It was not until the fall of his senior year that Grewal said he began seriously thinking about the possibility of being valedictorian. Then, a few weeks ago, Grewal said he and two or three other seniors were sent a BlitzMail message letting them know that although nothing would be finalized until the final grades were in, they all were possible valedictorians.
"My friends have really been pulling for me, and they were all excited when I heard that I got it," Grewal said. "It's nice to be around people like that."
Daniel Sheldon of Dalton, Penn. is the Class of 1999 salutatorian. A math major, Sheldon holds the class' second highest GPA.
He has compiled a 3.97 grade-point average over four years, with three academic citations along the way.
Sheldon has also been a member of Dartmouth's Ultimate Frisbee team and the Cords a Capella group.
