Class of 2018

Happy new year, ’18s! This year Dartmouth celebrates its 250th anniversary. To mark the occasion, I pulled together a set of prompts so that everyone could share some of their favorite Dartmouth memories. Here were some highlights from your responses.

First I asked, “Tell us about a Dartmouth tradition you hold dear or about a tradition you share with your classmates.”

Andrew Sun wrote, “ ‘Let’s get a meal sometime!’ I’m sure everyone has asked this of a classmate at one point. It’s almost become a running joke at Dartmouth because of how often this exact phrase is used. However, I think we really took for granted how easy it was to actually get a meal, sometimes with a complete stranger, while being a student at Dartmouth. Maybe it’s the small size of the student body or the strong sense of community that is cultivated starting from first-year trips. All I know is that I built many strong relationships that started with, ‘Let’s get a meal sometime!’ ”

Sarah Rote wrote, “Though it’s not talked about as often, one of my favorite traditions is the midnight snowball fight on the Green after the first significant snowfall. Large groups of people, summoned by a Dr. Seuss Blitz, mill about until snow starts flying in all directions. It’s dark out and chaotic, so I might have launched a few snowballs into unsuspecting clusters and then run the opposite way.”

Andi Norman wrote, “Class Day was really special for me. I got to experience the ’16 Class Day as a sophomore and then again during my senior week. To be all together with my class at the Bema, right where we began as freshmen, gave me chills and filled me with so much joy and nostalgia for my time at the College on the Hill.”

Then I asked, “This fall we celebrated our first Homecoming as alumni. What’s your favorite Homecoming memory?”

Lindsay Salem wrote, “My favorite Homecoming memory is running around the bonfire with my dad, Steve Salem ’87. Sharing that experience with him will always be one of my favorite Dartmouth memories.”

Finally, “What do you love most about Dartmouth?”

Andrew Sun wrote, “ ‘Dartmouth Undying’ has a line—‘Dartmouth…the gleaming, dreaming walls of Dartmouth, miraculously builded in our hearts.’ I’m not sure I can put it much better than that. Dartmouth holds a special place in my memory—not because it was a perfect experience; it was far from perfect. My Dartmouth experience was fraught with struggle, deep realizations, and sometimes painful self-discovery. Yet I do feel I came out a better and stronger person. So whenever I think about Dartmouth, with its beautiful trees, benches, and libraries, I also feel a deep sense of nostalgia for the place, its people, and what Dartmouth has meant to me.”

Emma Mouzon wrote, “What I love most about Dartmouth is, undoubtedly, the unique bond it has as a community. The endless love and support of the Dartmouth community extends far past the grandiose pines of New Hampshire. I fell in love with Dartmouth during my interview after hearing my interviewer reminisce about this magnificent college on the hill and its lasting traditions. Welcomed by the Dartmouth Club of Los Angeles after being admitted, I knew that Dartmouth had become my home even before stepping foot on campus. To me, Dartmouth is more than just my college; it’s an identity that I am truly proud to uphold and celebrate around the girdled earth.”

Thank you to everyone who shared their reflections for this column! I hope that 2019 is full of exciting new adventures for the class of 2018.

—Emily Choate, 172 Commonwealth Ave., Apt. 3, Boston, MA 02116; (603) 305-5346; eschoate@gmail.com