Class of 2018

Hey, ’18s! Hope you’re all doing well and that you had a happy New Year’s! In this edition of the class column I asked to hear a funny story about a time that you’ve messed up since entering the real world. As 2020 kicks off, I figured we could all enjoy a quick laugh among friends before turning over a new leaf. I hope you enjoy some of the anonymized tales below. Also, please make sure to read through the full column for an announcement featuring one of our most musical classmates!

“The second week of medical school I was at a happy hour mixer with other first years. There was a guy across the table I had never actually met, but I knew his name was Matt. Trying to mingle a bit, I caught his attention across the table and said, ‘Hi! I’m Matt!’ He looked very confused.”

“I didn’t realize that my company and the rest of the office building all used different access cards. I managed to ‘lock myself out’ twice, had to call coworkers to help, and filed an incident report before someone pointed out that I did, in fact, have access. This was six months in!”

“I had just started at medical school, and our first unit was anatomy. This included an in-depth unit on both male and female reproductive anatomy. Let’s just say that the patrons at my local Starbucks weren’t too pleased to have me studying detailed diagrams in their midst. I had to close down a few tabs and make a quick exit!”

“My group was hosting a seminar on research opportunities. Everything was ready, and our catered breakfast spread was delivered on time. Although we had three dozen bagels, someone decided at the last minute that we needed to give people the option of toasting them. Unfortunately, we had no toasters on hand. As the new hire, I ran back to the office, grabbed the toasters scattered across our kitchen spaces, and dashed back to set up our deluxe breakfast buffet. I didn’t have time to explain to my officemates why I was stealing all of our toasters. When I returned, I started plugging in toasters with reckless abandon until the building’s security personnel approached me angrily to dampen my toasted bagel plans. Turns out you aren’t allowed to plug in a bunch of rogue electrical appliances without appropriate oversight. Sadly, I returned to the office with the contraband toasters in hand and placed them back in their proper spots. The seminar may have been a success, but 10 months later my name at the office is still ‘Toast.’ ”

We have some exciting news from one of our class’ rising superstars! In September Zach Plante released his first extended play record with his band, Pass By Catastrophe. Zach plays bass, guitar, and piano on the record, which includes rock, indie rock, and pop rock hits. Everyone should give it a listen and read Zach’s interview in The Dartmouth to learn about its creation. You can find the record on all major platforms, and I highly recommend a listen. We can’t wait to hear your next release, Zach!

As always, thanks to everyone who shared stories for this column. If you’re not getting emails from me and want to be included in receiving these column prompts and other important class news, the new year is a great time for you to update your alumni profile. You can find details on how to update your contact information and customize the content you’re receiving at www.alumni.dartmouth.edu/connect/find-alumni. As always, I look forward to staying in touch!

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