Like most Dartmouth students, Jesse and Michael Foote's time at the College has been filled with strong friendships, frolicking in the outdoors and stressful academics. And yet, when they are together in a room, a shared sense of purpose and commitment to improving their world is obvious.
The twin brothers, both graduating members of the Class of 2001, have an impressive track record of campus involvement and leadership.
Jesse is currently the coordinator of the Environmental Conservation Organization, and Michael is the founder of DREAM, an independent service group aimed at improving the lives of children from Templeton Court, a local subsidized housing complex.
And as Jesse and Michael lounged and chatted comfortably in The Dartmouth newsroom, just how much the two have in common was clear.
"There are two ways to be a twin," said Jesse, meaning that twins have a choice of whether or not to intentionally differentiate themselves. The Foote brothers chose the latter, and admitted that for their first 14 years they shared everything from a room to a wallet.
"When we were little, Jesse would always ask to come over and sleep in my bed 'cause he was scared," Michael joked.
Although they did not see much of each other during freshmen year, the brothers currently live together in the River Ranch, where they also lived sophomore summer. Michael mentioned that twins who did not get to share a college experience were "missing out."
"I feel like if Mike does something cool, it's like props for me," Jesse said. Michael agreed about the advantages of having a successful twin at a small college.
"We were not planning to go to the same college, but it turned out to be a good experience, especially when tough things came up," Jesse noted.
A common interest shared by the brothers is their involvement in the DOC and first-year trips. Jesse was a member of Hanover croo and Michael has been on lodge croo twice. Both have been trip leaders.
"I remember the whole croo going outside in our underwear and dancing in the rain and sliding in the mud on the leach field on mattresses while all the trippees just kind of looked out of the lodge with their mouths hanging open ... I remember when trip sections were so pumped up that they all got up on the tables after dinner," Michael recalled from his time on lodge croo.
"I've never reached that level of emotional intensity again, we were all so excited," Michael added of his second year on the crew, when he was the co-chief with Nils Ericson '00.
Jesse and Michael grew up outside of Chicago with parents who are both teachers. The brothers developed their love of service and the outdoors through their involvement with the Boy Scouts, the Presbyterian church, high school fencing and cross country teams, as well as long camping trips "out West" with their parents.
"We were both boy scouts to the point of dorkiness," Michael said, admitting that they had both reached the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
Seniors may recognize Jesse's name from the weekly e-mail reminding people to come out for the Thursday midnight '01 "pride rally," which he started. Thanks to Jesse and the 2001 Class Council, seniors -- and now lower classes as well -- gather every week at 12:00 a.m. to drive around the Green screaming at the top of their voices.
Jesse and Michael's commitments to ECO and DREAM, respectively, have been the twins' most important activities during their time at Dartmouth.
"Mainly, its important to find something to believe in, and put your heart and soul into it," Jesse said of their commitment to community service. "It doesn't seem to make sense to live life for selfish things; it is so much more fun and interesting not to."
The success of their respective organizations attests to the fact that the brothers practice what they preach.
"We started with 14 pairs of Dartmouth students and children, then it took off, now 150 students are involved," Michael said about his brainchild, DREAM. The student-child "partners" meet every Friday to play and learn in one-on-one and group settings.
"I shouldn't be called the founder, everyone feels like they started it," Michael modestly mentioned.
Jesse is also involved in DREAM, and has a seven-year-old partner named Eric, whom he accompanied recently on an end-of-term trip to Montreal with the other DREAM partners.
In the past few years, ECO has also become a much more prominent voice on campus, partly due to the institution of ECO reps in dorms and Greek houses, a program that Jesse was instrumental in starting.
"My goal is to make Dartmouth the first sustainable college campus," Jesse said. He plans to continue toward this goal after graduation, while he completes the five-year engineering program and possibly as the College's first Environmental Coordinator, a position that he and administrators are working to establish.
With a degree in environmental engineering, Jesse's future seems fairly clear. Like many seniors, Michael's post-graduation plans are less certain.
"My goal is to be happy and have fun. I was pretty confused about the whole job search thing, but I decided what I want is to have lots of new experiences and solve some problems along the way," he said.
Michael, a biology major, said he wants to learn to fly a plane at some point during his life, and "to wander the Earth."
This summer, Michael hopes to get an internship working with inner city children in Washington DC. His experience as a teacher in the Marshall Islands during his junior fall prepared him to deal with tough educational situations.
"It was hard and lonely. You think you're a strong person, then as you deal with being alone, you realize you have needs too," Michael said of his experience in the Marshall Islands.
During his junior year, Jesse spent the summer and fall in Cape Town, South Africa, leading an urban youth group and participating in the Environmental Studies FSP.
Both Jesse and Michael said that one of their favorite classes at Dartmouth was Acting I with Professor James Rice. Jesse also enjoyed an interdisciplinary with Professor Dana Meadows that combined engineering and environmental studies.
Among the classes that Michael said were "able to hold his attention" were Computer Science 5, and Professor Garrod's education classes, for which Michael was a TA.
Jesse disagreed with Michael's love of CS5. "I got a C+ in C++ ... that's one of my dad's favorite jokes," Jesse commented.
Michael also fondly remembers Professor Half Zantop, whose Earth Science 15 class Michael was taking this winter when the professor was murdered.
After four busy years here, Jesse and Michael have acquired some wisdom about life at Dartmouth:
"Listen to advice, but follow your heart. It's easy to get confused when you get good advice but lose yourself in it," Michael commented.
"No one is really more deserving than anyone else. Cheerfully doing service is the way to live. What else is important but to make other people happy?" Jesse concluded.
