Class Note 2020
Issue
July-August 2024
Class of ’20s: our 20s are full of twists and turns, some chosen, some unexpected. In our first set of postcollege years, we figure out adulting: how to take care of ourselves and those around us, how to find people who make us smile, and what it means to work.
This summer will mark four years since our graduation, and I propose we celebrate a second time. Now, we leap from the frantic explorations of our early 20s into a continued exploration of the inputs that will lead to a satisfactory (happy?) output.
As we begin new adventures, both personal and professional, Dartmouth remains a steady backbone for our continued explorations of this wide world. Please enjoy reflections from Emma Velicky on just this.
“To be perfectly honest, I’ve never considered myself to be someone with abundant school spirit. I find the idea of everyone wearing the same thing to be a little cult-y, and you wouldn’t catch me dead at any event that includes running. I have no tripees because I skipped trips to spend more time with my high school boyfriend. And when I first got to Dartmouth I avoided floor-wide ice breakers like the plague.
“My naive understanding was that you go to a place like Dartmouth, make a few good college friends, use the network when you need it, and maybe try to get your kid in as a legacy. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“In a 2022 Class Notes column, I talked about the importance of taking small steps, of taking pride in disciplined consistency. But sometimes you have to run full speed in the direction of your heart. In that spirit I quit my much-hated job at Microsoft, made a pittance writing for a romance mobile game, and completed a film program at University of Washington.
“Now I’ve pivoted to entrepreneurship. I just launched Saturday Box, a sexual wellness startup created to bring kink and roleplay into the mainstream. We create at-home adventures, complete with character cards, scene setups, lingerie, and toys, to help couples venture outside their comfort zone. (If you’re curious about the details, visit saturdaybox.com or follow us on Instagram @saturday_box.)
“This new path has been paved with Dartmouth green. I joined a consumer goods startup incubator run by Dartmouth and Tuck alumni volunteers. While I started the incubator dreaming of accessible office furniture, I came out of it with a business plan for a kink and roleplay subscription box. The Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Network (DEN) of Seattle and a gaggle of visiting DEN-affiliated students came out to the incubator’s pitch competition, where my sex boxes notched first place.
“I am so grateful to the Dartmouth and Tuck community, both in and outside of Seattle. Classmates such as Sean Hawkins, Linda Xiao, and Isabel Parks are my biggest cheerleaders. And I’ve been so lucky to lean on other Dartmouth founders such as Orestis Lykouropoulos ’17 (Aivideo.com), Dae Kim ’19 (Noxudata), and Kristie Chow (Hauteline), and mentors such as Bryan Alston ’11, Steven Hooper Jr., Tu’11, and Tanushree Podder, Tu’20, for advice and support.
“Dartmouth provides us with incredible resources, even after graduation. The Magnuson Center employs a full-time person to cultivate and grow the DEN on the West Coast. The incredible Kari Chen organizes free, in-person events for entrepreneurially minded community members nearly every month across Seattle, San Francisco, and L.A.
“This year I’ll give back to DEN by serving as the Seattle young alumni leader. I would love to create an international community of ’20s and other young alums who are creating things. If you’re interested, reach out to me at emma@saturdaybox.com and I’ll put together a group chat or a virtual meet-up.”
—Katie Goldstein, 263 W Santa Inez, Hillsborough, CA 94010; katie.e.goldstein.20@dartmouth.edu
This summer will mark four years since our graduation, and I propose we celebrate a second time. Now, we leap from the frantic explorations of our early 20s into a continued exploration of the inputs that will lead to a satisfactory (happy?) output.
As we begin new adventures, both personal and professional, Dartmouth remains a steady backbone for our continued explorations of this wide world. Please enjoy reflections from Emma Velicky on just this.
“To be perfectly honest, I’ve never considered myself to be someone with abundant school spirit. I find the idea of everyone wearing the same thing to be a little cult-y, and you wouldn’t catch me dead at any event that includes running. I have no tripees because I skipped trips to spend more time with my high school boyfriend. And when I first got to Dartmouth I avoided floor-wide ice breakers like the plague.
“My naive understanding was that you go to a place like Dartmouth, make a few good college friends, use the network when you need it, and maybe try to get your kid in as a legacy. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“In a 2022 Class Notes column, I talked about the importance of taking small steps, of taking pride in disciplined consistency. But sometimes you have to run full speed in the direction of your heart. In that spirit I quit my much-hated job at Microsoft, made a pittance writing for a romance mobile game, and completed a film program at University of Washington.
“Now I’ve pivoted to entrepreneurship. I just launched Saturday Box, a sexual wellness startup created to bring kink and roleplay into the mainstream. We create at-home adventures, complete with character cards, scene setups, lingerie, and toys, to help couples venture outside their comfort zone. (If you’re curious about the details, visit saturdaybox.com or follow us on Instagram @saturday_box.)
“This new path has been paved with Dartmouth green. I joined a consumer goods startup incubator run by Dartmouth and Tuck alumni volunteers. While I started the incubator dreaming of accessible office furniture, I came out of it with a business plan for a kink and roleplay subscription box. The Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Network (DEN) of Seattle and a gaggle of visiting DEN-affiliated students came out to the incubator’s pitch competition, where my sex boxes notched first place.
“I am so grateful to the Dartmouth and Tuck community, both in and outside of Seattle. Classmates such as Sean Hawkins, Linda Xiao, and Isabel Parks are my biggest cheerleaders. And I’ve been so lucky to lean on other Dartmouth founders such as Orestis Lykouropoulos ’17 (Aivideo.com), Dae Kim ’19 (Noxudata), and Kristie Chow (Hauteline), and mentors such as Bryan Alston ’11, Steven Hooper Jr., Tu’11, and Tanushree Podder, Tu’20, for advice and support.
“Dartmouth provides us with incredible resources, even after graduation. The Magnuson Center employs a full-time person to cultivate and grow the DEN on the West Coast. The incredible Kari Chen organizes free, in-person events for entrepreneurially minded community members nearly every month across Seattle, San Francisco, and L.A.
“This year I’ll give back to DEN by serving as the Seattle young alumni leader. I would love to create an international community of ’20s and other young alums who are creating things. If you’re interested, reach out to me at emma@saturdaybox.com and I’ll put together a group chat or a virtual meet-up.”
—Katie Goldstein, 263 W Santa Inez, Hillsborough, CA 94010; katie.e.goldstein.20@dartmouth.edu