Class Note 1997. As we start to plan for our 30th reunion on June 17-20, 2027, I asked our classmates to give reasons why they love Dartmouth. Here are some of the great responses, with more to come in the next issue.
Vadim Sarma says: “The utmost foremost reason is the friends I made. My best friends—ride-or-die friends—are the ones I met there. Four of them are my extended family, as I think of them. People there were so friendly. I had a hard time making friends in high school. From the moment I got there I met good people who were nice and who liked me. Second, I had a chance to explore my interests: music; athletics; academics. Third, it’s so damn beautiful up there.”
Jamey Lipscomb says: “Dartmouth will always be home. I was in the area and walked the campus this past weekend with my family and saw so many changes from the time we graduated but so much remains the same. Around every corner I’m reminded of my 18-year-old self, lessons I learned, and the friends I made. The granite of New Hampshire will forever be part of me.”
Sarah Johnston Ellenberg says: “I love Dartmouth because I found the love of my life and the father of my kids—Michael Ellenberg—there and wonderful friends too.”
Ken Allen says: “I love Dartmouth because of the amazing friendships I made there and the way it expanded my mind and prepared me to learn in new and unfamiliar situations.”
Lloyd Fass: “For me, Dartmouth is about proximity—to people, to ideas, to possibility. The scale of the place forces real relationships. You don’t hide in the back row. You learn to engage. That’s stayed with me long after graduation. I also appreciate how durable and responsive the alumni community is. When you reach out, people genuinely show up. And it creates real opportunities to support others and to stay engaged in something larger than yourself.”
Rebecca Siegel Baron says: “I love that the connection of being a ’97 has transcended our time as students on campus. Through work with our class after graduation I have made friends with ’97s I didn’t even know in college. It’s so special that a class connection can be so strong that it nurtures new friendships long after we’ve left Hanover!”
Sashi Bach says: “I love Dartmouth because all these years later, when I walk across the Green, it still feels like home!”
Bryan Farrow says: “The campus always felt like an enchanted place to me—a bucolic little haven sheltered from city noise but somehow always on the cutting-edge of the arts and sciences. You felt like you were in conversation with the wider world while nestled in 270 acres of elms and Georgian architecture.”
Eran BenDavid says: “I credit Dartmouth with some of the most formative experiences—and friendships—in my life. ‘Clear and copious’ is an expression I still use with my kids when we go hiking. The image of seeing Will Taylor, one of my very closest lifelong friends, for the first time on the boathouse docks in a black-and-white striped unisuit is one I will never forget. The beautiful friends in that beautiful setting is one of the reasons I love Dartmouth.”
Chris Rhodes says: “My Dartmouth experience exceeded my wildest dreams of what it could be when I was there. Amazingly, though, the whole thing gets better with age. At 50, I have my old Dartmouth friends, new friends, reconnected friends, business partners, career milestones, and a Dartmouth wife! It wasn’t just an education, it turned out to be a community my whole life was built around.”
—Jason Casell, 11730 Mission Trace St., San Antonio, TX 78230; jhcasell@gmail.com