An anonymous $15 million alumni donation will help the College fund more than 300 additional internships each year, the College announced on Sept. 27.
The new opportunities — to be coordinated through the Center for Professional Development — will become available after the College raises an additional $15 million, according to the announcement. The anonymous donor has pledged to match additional donations up to the $30 million benchmark.
The CPD determines awards based on student experience, internship and available funds, and awards are capped at $5,000. Students receiving financial aid from the College may be eligible for additional funds, according to the center’s website. In an email statement to The Dartmouth, CPD director Monica Wilson wrote that the donation will make internships more “financially accessible” to students.
“Internships [are now more] financially accessible to all undergraduates across a wide range of career paths, in partnership with other centers and institutes such as [the Dickey Center for International Understanding, The Irving Institute for Energy and the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Center for Social Impact],” Wilson wrote.
Ryan West ’28 said he believes the additional funded internships will be “beneficial” to him and his peers.
“When you’re working to get an internship, this [alumni gift] will help to not have financials as a barrier,” West said. “It’s going to open so many doors.”
He added that he believes the initiative demonstrates alumni’s continued commitment to “helping the [College] prosper in the future.”
The funding announcement accompanied several additional changes to the CPD. According to the Sept. 27 announcement, the College opened a satellite CPD office in McNutt Hall, in addition to its main location on South Main Street. The office space in McNutt houses the CPD’s new undergraduate career lab, which will offer career coaching drop-in hours as well as introduce new meeting spaces and resources such as a photo booth where students can take professional headshots, according to the statement. The Main Street location will still offer student services and will act as the main offices for the CPD.
According to Wilson, the lab’s relocation is part of a broader initiative to expand career opportunities for students “in financial need.”
“Whether in arts and culture, nonprofits, business or government — [the lab] will enable undergraduates in financial need to connect what they learn in the classroom to new experiences and work environments,” Wilson said.
Lindsay Harris ’25 said the new satellite office in McNutt will allow CPD resources to be accessible in a more “convenient” location “just steps away from [the Class of 1953 Commons] and Collis.”
“The move to a more central location like McNutt will allow more students to benefit from [the CPD’s] in-person services,” she said.
To help with new programs in the McNutt satellite office, the CPD hired program manager Seth Looper this September, according to a CPD newsletter published on Sept. 27. Looper said he hopes to create a “more flexible, design-centered [career search] process” for students.
“Many students aren’t sure of their career path, and that’s okay,” Looper said. “Our job is to help them explore their options and find a job that works for them right now.”
According to the Sept. 27 statement, the College also launched a new artificial intelligence tool, which is available for use through the undergraduate career lab at McNutt. Developed by CPD assistant director and career coach Chris Jordan, the tool uses GPT technology to aid students in their career search.
Looper said new AI tools provided by the CPD’s career lab will assist students in identifying their strengths while exploring career paths.
The added internships, as well as restructuring within the CPD, are part of College President Sian Beilock’s larger initiative to build a “lifelong Dartmouth,” according to the College’s announcement.
According to Wilson, the CPD hopes to strengthen partnerships with Dartmouth alumni and the Tuck School of Business. Many alumni are “already engaged in offering internships” and “helping expand relationships with campus partners,” she explained. For example, the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy officially launched the Judicial Fellowship Program — an off-term internship opportunity that pairs undergraduate students with alumni judges across the country — this fall.
“It’s not just students who will benefit,” she wrote. “This will allow new employers to discover Dartmouth talent, help us build our career community and expand our pipeline of opportunities long-term.”
