Shortly after arriving at Dartmouth, sans the snow and the mud and the slush, I went through a period of deciding that I never wanted to leave Hanover. I planned to find a desk job at the College, live in Hanover proper and raise my kids on froyo and the great outdoors. I wanted to be the creepy alum sketching on you in the basement or the old lady taking photos like crazy and dressing her kids up in Dartmouth gear. Graduate school is not part of that perfect picture. Granted, my image is for far in the future, but there are several recent Dartmouth grads who chose to stay in Hanover and pursue options other than further schooling. And it turns out they're not at all sketchy when you interact with them outside the basement, like I did over blitz one day with Sophie Hood '09.
Hood is spending her post-graduation time as a Studio Art intern at the Hood Museum of Art as well as a Visiting Artist at the Claflin Jewelry Workshop. When asked whether graduate school is in her plans for the future, Hood said she is unsure.
"I really haven't decided yet, nor narrowed down my fields of interest enough to garner going to grad school quite yet," she added.
So why stay in Hanover as opposed to pursuing artistry elsewhere?
"[I] wasn't quite ready to leave Dartmouth yet there were (and are) still things that I wanted to do, as well as people I wanted to be with," Hood said.
Hood is also working on creating a portfolio of her work, and she noted the exceptional facilities that Dartmouth offers as another reason to stay in the area and continue developing her art a useful stepping stone, she said, for her plans for the future.
There are other options for students who wish to stay in the area after graduation graduates can work as student directors at centers like the Tucker Foundation, administrators in the tour guide program, research assistants for professors. Or you can become an Inaugural Presidential Fellow in Global Studies and Higher Education and work closely with President Kim, or, like Hood, participate in the studio art internship program.
The Dartmouth experience, of course, has to be pretty different when the majority of your class has moved on to travel, get a job or go to graduate school. It's hard to imagine a life in Hanover without the struggle to wake up for your 9L, the stress of midterms and finals, and the nuances of College food, room and board. Hood agrees.
"It was a little strange at first being at Dartmouth but not being a student," she said.
Hood noted that she now lives on her own, works a couple of jobs and is busy in a different way. She does miss the friends she made during her tenure as a student, and notices that she doesn't hang out as much as she used to.
Hood added, however, that after working, she can relax as she pleases because she no longer has to worry about homework or tests.
For students stuck on staying at Dartmouth for just a couple months or years longer, look no further than Hood for an example of a post-graduation experience that has been productive and enjoyable.
"It has been a wonderful experience," Hood said.
She especially enjoys having one more chance to relive her time at Dartmouth and explore all of its opportunities without the academic stresses. Hood said "she feel[s] ready to move on to something new," when asked if she plans to pursue graduate school in a few years or continue on the same path.
Whatever that new step may be, it is clear that post-graduation experiences at Dartmouth, while not the norm for most seniors, can be a valuable and fruitful endeavor for those of us who aren't ready to leave yet.
