The painter. The poet. The nerd who owns it. The swimmer. The hiker. The party-all-nighter. The baker. The maker. The family caretaker. The bundle-of-nerves-for-this-term-long-icebreaker. You all have unique experiences that have shaped your identities coming into college. Every Dartmouth student — from those who come from “Just Outside Boston” to those who come from Rwanda — has their own world of memories and skills to share with the Dartmouth community. You are all so different, yet you all ended up here, in middle-of-nowhere New Hampshire, for the most transformative years of your lives.
Over the next four years, the identities you brought with you to college will inform how you interact with the friends you make, how you choose your classes and how you decide which communities you choose to stick with and which clubs you pass on. These identities will morph as well: Your morals will be tugged at, your priorities will fall in and out of order and your memory banks will be flooded with starry nights on the golf course and snowball fights on the Green.
In this issue, we discuss how to beat the symptoms of “duck syndrome,” learn from one of our most notable alumni and reflect on the possibility of finding a home away from home. We also fill you in on many core aspects that define our campus’s culture, such as our zany lingo, features of our breathtaking campus, heartfelt peer-advice and, of course, Dartmouth pong. This is just a taste of what makes Dartmouth Dartmouth, and we’re so excited to see how you’re going to make this place your own.
Class of 2023, we hope Dartmouth allows you to fall in love with cities you’ve never been to and people you’ve never met. We also hope that Dartmouth makes you appreciate who you are, where you come from and all that you have to offer. These next four years are going to fly by right before your eyes. Make sure to make the most out of this opportunity, but don’t lose yourself along the way.
Best wishes,
Nikhita Hingorani and Justin Kramer
This article is a part of the 2019 Freshman Issue.
