About two weeks into my Dartmouth career, some friends and I heard about a little thing called The Fifty. We immediately signed up to support and had an incredible time helping older Dartmouth students as they tested their limits. Watching The Fifty hikers struggle through the night — completely of their own free will and often with little advanced preparation — was the first thing about Dartmouth that really showed me just how much our school and surroundings makes possible. As cliché as it sounds, those of us at Dartmouth don’t think, we just do, when it comes to challenging ourselves and experiencing everything that the Upper Valley has to offer.
There’s never been a better time to do that than sophomore summer, and yet the pressure to do so much before the weather starts to get cold again and our friends head off to faraway countries and internships sometimes can make it feel like you’ve hardly done anything “sophomore summery” at all. Regardless of how you’ve spent this summer, don’t worry — we’ve got two more years to discover this place and keep telling ourselves we’ll actually do a sunrike.
And to all of your embarking on The Fifty today, best of luck!
