Class Note 1990

This month I asked ’90s, “Looking back at your Dartmouth years, when (or with whom or with what group of people) did you feel the greatest sense of belonging?” Here is Part I.

Scott Patterson: “I have a very special affinity for the people I met on the Dartmouth College computing network, specifically on the XYZ chat. They still hold a special place in my heart. We have a Facebook group too: facebook.com/groups/dartmouthxyz.” Ed Callaway: “That’s easy: playing music in Deacon’s Close with Flagg Miller ’91, Kelley Bishop ’86, Jim DiCarlo ’91, Jeff Garneau ’88, and P.K. Suk on Tuesday nights at Café Buon Gustaio. Dinner and beer on the house made us ‘professional’ musicians!” David Clark: “No question, walking into a football locker room and getting ready for football practice or a game gave me a sense of place and infused camaraderie that can only be understood when you are on a team and you depend on one another for success. Coach Teevens did a nice job setting expectations for us as teammates and demanding that we respect one another as a unit. That collaboration and connection with one another made me feel that my teammates were like my brothers. We were family! The second is the relationship developed with classmates Rob Summers and Eugene Sims. On gloomy days and nights on the ‘hill,’ having friends to talk to and support me through bad games, a poor grade on a test, or a difficult relationship may seem very trivial but it helped the ‘Florida boy’ through some depressing days. Even though we did not play together, we supported each other through our seasons and remained close friends after Dartmouth. This fall we are planning a visit to Miami for the Dolphins-Redskins game. We are lifelong friends, and this is what I envisioned would happen at a school such as Dartmouth.” Mike Keller: “I can’t give just one response to this question. Equally important to my overall Dartmouth experience were the Glee Club, my fraternity (Sig Epsilon), and my River Cluster family from my freshman year in French Hall (with football, freshman trips, and some specific academic class communities following closely behind). The diversity of these groups was a big part of what made my Dartmouth experience so special. I can’t imagine what it might have been like without any of them.” Mark Sternman: “Taking tea at Sanborn, running the goat trail, or playing in the Marching Band with five people who became lifelong friends (Tor Blaisdell, Roth Herrlinger, Jamie Pringle, Scott Spring, and Marilyn Cummings ’92).” Christine Smith: “My strongest memories of belonging to Dartmouth date back to freshman year and even before. First, when I got in early decision in December 1985 (seriously, ’85?), eager to bolt out of high school, I felt instantly connected as a new member of the ‘Dartmouth family’—whatever that was. And Freshman Week we all belonged. Smart kids with bad 1980s haircuts and high SAT scores and all of us members of the freshman class. Differentiation came later, but at that point we were all one highly charged teenage mass. Many pockets of belonging since then, which include all of the dear friends I’ve kept to date, but those two are the ones that have stuck with me.” Gregg DiPietro: “I felt the greatest sense of belonging around the people with whom I spent a lot of time outside the classroom—the crew team—both men and women. Within that group, ‘the boys in the boat’ (Lou Mabley, Mark Riddell, Karl Benedict, Chris Schmidt, and non-rower Rob Crawford, my Theta Epsilon Alpha house roommates) will always be like family.”

—Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com