Meryl Streep (transfer student,1970) She may have graduated from Vasser in 1971, but as a senior she spent a term at Dartmouth as a transfer student. As this was before coeducation, the later recipient of 14 Academy Award nominations was one of only 60 women at Dartmouth at that time. Streep was, of course, heavily involved in the theatre community while she was a student here, and then went on to win two Oscars and countless other acting awards. Coincidence?
John Humphrey Noyes (Class of 1830) Remember learning about that crazy utopian Oneida community during American history in high school? The one based in upstate New York that practiced complex marriages where everyone in the community was married to everyone else? Well Noyes, founded the community less than twenty years after graduating from Dartmouth. He may not be a movie star, but the man must have had good stories about his many marriages for class reunions.
Rachel Dratch (Class of 1988) Dratch graduated with a double major in drama and psychology, but more telling was her involvement in the now-defunct improv group Said and Done. She went on to become Saturday Night Live's longest running cast member, impersonating everyone from Hilary Duff to Hillary Clinton along the way.
Mindy Kaling (Class of 2001) She stars as Kelly Kapoor on NBC's hit comedy "The Office" and is a member of the writing staff as well, but while at Dartmouth Kaling was a member of the The Rockapellas, The Dog Day Players and even had her own comic strip in The Dartmouth called "Badly Drawn Girl." Kaling got her job on The Office after playing Ben Affleck in a play she wrote called "Matt & Ben," which chronicles the real origin of "Good Will Hunting" as it falls from the sky into Matt and Ben's young laps. She also writes a pretty funny blog about shopping called "Things that I bought that I love."
Shonda Rhimes (Class of 1991) I'm not really going to tell you much about "Grey's Anatomy" or the fact that its creator went to Dartmouth, because if by some chance you didn't know that already, I doubt that you're going to finish reading this anyway because you have to hurry back to that rock you've been living under. You may not know that she was an English major though, or that she was the director of the Black Underground Theatre and Arts Association. In many interviews she even stresses the importance of Dartmouth in perfecting her writing skills rather than her graduate studies at University of Southern California.
Bob Smith (Class of 1902) Okay, so Bob Smith may not be a household name like Meryl Streep. In fact, I admit I didn't know who he was until a few days ago. But he might very well be one of the original campus icons. Smith was the campus champion beer-drinker when he was a student here, according to "Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous." And why does "Not-God" bother to mention him? He went on to co-found AA in 1935. Finally, proof that partying can provide job experience. Even if that job is based on sobriety.
