Why I Chose Dartmouth

Since coming back from Spain, I have some time to reflect upon my last two years of Dartmouth. I keep thinking of how fortunate I am to have found such an incredible college that truly fits me both as a student and as an athlete.

I am always asked the question, why exactly did you choose Dartmouth? I always find myself asking the same question. Everyone’s answer is different. Most will say it is because of the incredible opportunities Dartmouth has to offer the students like the chance to travel abroad, or take an off term to find an internship, or do a community service project. This was definitely one of the most influential factors on my decision, but also many other things played an important role in my process of choosing a school.


Coming from Texas, it is rare to find many people who are willing to go to a school anywhere other than the South. I, too, thought I was one of those people. I always thought that I would follow in my sister’s footsteps and go to the University of Georgia and play volleyball for the Bulldogs. Never in my mind did I even consider the chance of me going to a college somewhere in the Northeast. It was not until my senior year of high school that I finally realized my dream of going to the University of Georgia was not my own dream; it was my sister’s dream. I have always done everything that my older sister did because that was all I have ever known. After making this realization, I began seriously considering different colleges all over the country; I did not want to limit myself by just staying in the South. I had not considered all of the other colleges that I had been recruited by, and what great things each of them had to offer.

The college that stood out to me the most was Dartmouth. Although I had never seen the campus, I had only ever heard incredible things about this school. I had one friend who was on the volleyball team at the time and when I approached her about the coaches and the program she talked with me for almost two hours just about how incredible the volleyball program was, and all great opportunities offered by Dartmouth.

I trusted her judgment and came to visit the campus. Instantaneously, I fell in love with both the campus and the volleyball program. The team and the coaches made me feel like I was already a member of the program, and I could honestly feel how excited they were that I had an interest in coming to Dartmouth. I did not have this same sense from any of the other colleges I had previously visited. I just had a sense that Dartmouth was the best fitting school for me.

So I took a risk, I decided to come to Dartmouth, and be a member of the Big Green volleyball program. Even though I was terrified of moving across the country and not having my family close to me, I was comforted by the fact that the members of the team and coaching staff would surround me. This was the first time in my life that I can think of where I made a choice solely on my own and not influenced by what my older sister would do.

By choosing Dartmouth, I get to continue to play volleyball for a Division I program, while also having a life outside of volleyball. We have the freedom to take off terms, and virtually do anything you can imagine. I have spent the past three months in Spain taking classes and traveling all around Europe with two of my best friends.

Most people who play volleyball in college are not blessed with these kinds of opportunities. I am fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of all of the wonderful possibilities that Dartmouth has to offer.

-Kendall Houston '12

I Have Promised to Challenge Myself

After four months away in Spain, it feels incredible to be back home in Hanover! I feel as if my time abroad fostered a fresh appreciation for the immense opportunity available at Dartmouth. This spring term I have promised to challenge myself by experiencing new things that are only available at Dartmouth.

This term I enrolled in Portuguese I at Dartmouth. I knew that learning a completely new language would be a great challenge for me. However, I was so intrigued by the opportunity to know a language besides English and Spanish that I quickly signed up. I think its incredible that my interest in the culture and language of Brazil can develop into the ability to communicate in Portuguese just after ten weeks of class at Dartmouth. However, that is the beauty of Dartmouth courses. All the hard-work that students put into their classes they receive twofold in knowledge and understanding by the end of the term.

The Dartmouth community itself is phenomenal. Returning this spring, I fully appreciate the intellect and passion of those around me. The people that I have met at Dartmouth have exposed me to so many interesting and different viewpoints and ways of life. Amongst the four thousand undergraduates at Dartmouth, every student is unique and from all over the world. I love attending a school where everyday I meet someone who is different than me. My friends at Dartmouth constantly are provoking new ways of thinking and providing challenges to my traditional understanding. These relationships have cultivated a strong sense of independence and individuality in me and have been the greatest source of growth in my life. It has been incredible to be surrounded by people that I feel I can constantly learn from and grow.

Besides the incredible, academic opportunities and amazing student-body at Dartmouth there are hundreds of random things to do around Hanover. This last weekend I stayed in a Dartmouth Outing Club cabin situated on a beautiful lake up in the mountains with a group of friends. It was such a fun, entertaining experience cooking our own food and being completely on our own for a night. Between, world-renowned guest lecturers, the numerous hiking trails, the Dartmouth Organic Farm, dozens of mentoring programs, the fabulous opportunities to grow and change the world are endless in a community like Dartmouth.

I feel as if this college has provided me with the complete experience. The flexibility of the Dartmouth academic structure has allowed me to pursue my passion for foreign language and has provided me with the opportunity to apply my knowledge through my term abroad this last winter. Since coming to school, I have gained invaluable experience through the unique students and unforgettable opportunities surrounding the Dartmouth community. My time here has been full of terrific possibilities that only continue to grow as my college years progress. I feel so fortunate to experience such an extraordinary sense of freedom while simultaneously being a part of such a strong volleyball program at Dartmouth.

-Maddy Baird '12

Stronger Than You Think

Happy spring from Hanover!! The grass is just starting to green up and the trees are full with "leaves to be"! We are right in the middle of our spring practice season. For our "non traditional" season, the Ivy League allows us to have ten practice sessions with our full team and compete in two spring playdates. In general, we start spring practice once everyone returns to campus after spring break. We begin with a start-up team meeting and set some goals to work on during the term. On Saturday, April 10th we hosted a home playdate in Leede Arena. Springfield College, Providence College, Bryant University, and Franklin Pierce College drove up to Hanover for the day. It was great to see the team playing together again against a variety of opponents. This competition helped us see what we will need to be working on for the next two weeks in order to get ready for our final playdate at the University of New Hampshire on Saturday, April 24th.

This week, we "paid back" our women's lacrosse team (ranked #7 in the nation) with a short volleyball clinic. In the fall, they were generous with their time and taught our team the basics of catching and throwing. We decided to return the favor and invited them to join us for a little pepper and serving. I think both teams were able to really appreciate the skills necessary to be successful at both sports and we had a few good laughs too!


Outside of practice time in the gym, the team has been lifting with our strength coach, Amanda, twice a week since the start of the term. Once our official spring practices are over, they will see Amanda between 3-4 times a week for added training and conditioning. We are planning some "team challenges" for the month of May to test our spring theme of "You're Stronger Than You Think". Stay tuned to the blog to see how the challenges go for the players!! and who emerges as the strongest or at least who is still standing at the end of competition!!

Happy Spring!

-Ann Marie Larese, head coach

Oh, The Place You'll Go....(with a Dartmouth degree).

I have always known of the uniqueness of Dartmouth and have learned even more these past two years of how incredible it is to be a part of the Dartmouth Experience.

Here are some of the things that set Dartmouth apart:
1) The D-Plan. Dartmouth is on the quarter system. This mean that we have four 10-week terms (fall, winter, spring, summer). Volleyball is during the fall term, which means that our players have the freedom to travel abroad during the winter term or have an internship, etc. The option is theirs for the winters of the sophomore and junior years.

2) Limited missed class time. Given all the hype of March Madness and how much is said in the media about how poorly Division I college students perform in the classroom - we are just the opposite. Being an Ivy League institution means that we hold ourselves to the highest standards and take our academics seriously. If our players schedule their classes for the mornings and early afternoons in the fall term, they could potentially only miss two Fridays of classes while we are in season. Additionally our team GPA consistently hovers around 3.2.

3) Best Undergraduate Teaching Institution. In 2009 U.S. News and World Report's ranked Dartmouth as #1 in the category of "Best Undergraduate Teaching" among national universities.

4) A Few Famous Dartmouth Alums:
-Theodor Seuss Geisel '25 (aka Dr. Seuss) - Children's author and illustrator
-C. Everett Koop '37 - former Surgeon General of the United States
-Sandy Alderson '69 - CEO of San Diego Padres baseball organization
-Jeffery Immelt '78 - CEO of General Electric
-John Donahoe '82 - CEO of eBay
-Timothy Geitner '83 - United States Secretary of the Treasury
-Rachel Dratch '88 - Actress, cast member of Saturday Night Live
-Connie Britton '89 - actress; best known as Tami Taylor on Friday Night Lights
-Andrew Shue '89 - actor, best known for Melrose Place
-Sondra Rhimes '91 - Screenwriter, director, and producer; best known for producing Grey's Anatomy (ever wonder why Meredith wears a Dartmouth shirt?)
-Gillian Apps '06 - two-time Olympic gold medalist in ice hockey
-Cherie Piper '06 - three-time Olympic gold medalist in ice hockey

5) Dartmouth is a liberal arts college. We offer 35 majors that cover a wide range of possibilities once your graduate. You can find a physician that majored in Physics and a high school teacher that majored in Environmental Studies.

For the smallest school in the Ivy League, we have a lot going on!



-Heather Somers, assistant coach

Reunited!

After a winter spent all over the globe (literally), our volleyball team is finally reunited again in Hanover, New Hampshire. Even the rain that hasn’t stopped pouring down since the minute I arrived on campus can’t dampen my spirits.

I spent this past term in hustling, bustling New York City. I interned at a small public relations firm called Nike Communications, where I worked on the “travel team,” making clips, keeping books, and pitching stories for the Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, a luxury hotel line with 22 properties all over the world. One of my favorite parts of the internship was being able to help out at events for various clients. I worked at Vino 2010, the largest Italian Wine Conference ever held outside of Italy, and also a couple parties for fun companies like Betsey Johnson and Esquire Magazine. It was my first exposure to PR, and I loved learning more about the field. I have grown to appreciate any experience that helps me understand just what I might want to do with my life, seeing as I am asked that question more and more often as I get older. Every day I feel blessed for the amazing opportunities I’ve been given, but with that realization comes the desire to do something that will fully take advantage of those opportunities – I guess figuring that out is really what college is all about.

Practices start up again this week, and I think everyone on the team is excited to be back on the court together, doing what we love. Our team has gone through a lot of changes over the last year and it has been so great to see everything clicking into place. It is always a bit uncomfortable getting back into the swing of volleyball, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like a fish on dry land for a large part of practice. But we have all spent so many hours of our lives playing this game that it really doesn’t take much to get back on track. Especially when you’re out there with your best friends.

Our team is in a great place right now, emotionally, mentally, and physically. In our team meeting to kick off this spring season, we all felt like we were on the same page, and the energy in the room was extremely positive, enthusiastic, and open. I know I’m not just speaking for myself when I say that I am so happy to be back, and so proud to call every one of these girls my teammate. Can’t wait for spring season!

-Jessie Hartman '11

Opportunities Galore!

Hello everyone from sunny San Diego! I am currently enjoying my winter off term in my hometown of San Diego, CA. This term has been a great break from the Dartmouth lifestyle and has really allowed me to get some great work experience as well as life experience. In terms of work, I was given the opportunity to intern with the Planning and Conservation League and helped to plan and organize their annual legislative symposium which occurs in Sacramento, CA every year. The Planning and Conservation League (PCL) is a major non-profit environmental organization in California as well as a significant lobbying power in the California State Legislature. Through this experience I not only learned a lot but also met some of the most influential people who are shaping the face of how California deals with the environment and the effects us humans have on it. Seeing as I am an Environmental Studies major, I was in HEAVEN.

I have also been interning for another firm, Crotty Consulting, Inc, which is a small governmental consulting firm in downtown San Diego. Chris, my boss essentially runs politicians campaigns from outreach to mailings to speeches. The main project we have been working on through my time there is the California Valley Solar Ranch, which is a proposed solar array “ranch” located in San Luis Obispo, CA. I have mostly been working on outreach to the public to get them behind the construction of the project.


But enough about work, I am sure no one really cares about that especially after reading about Annie’s adventures in Spain! So besides working, I have been traveling around California a lot. I have managed to see a lot of my close high school friends over the last 2 months. From Berkeley to UC San Diego to Cal Poly I have had a great time really exploring California. It is such an awesome thing that Dartmouth allows us to take this time off to work, explore and mature, but I still have a heck of a time trying to explain to people why I am not at school this quarter. People think I flunked out or something! Haha.

Besides traveling, the other fun part of my life is playing volleyball. I have been lucky enough to be able to practice weekly with my old club, Encinitas Wave. I practice with the 18-1s which is a BLAST and keeps me sharp on my game. Even though I will admit, I sometimes feel old playing with those 18 year olds. Since when am I almost a SENIOR in college?! Crazy! Anyway… it has been incredible playing with these girls, because I have really seen them grow up as players, from their freshman years in high school to now and I serve not only as a fellow player but also as a coach. On top of playing I have been training at a gym that is specifically for volleyball players. To put it bluntly I have been getting my butt kicked, which is good (when I can move again after the soreness recedes) because I am feeling strong and healthy and ready for spring season.


Last but not least, to continue with how amazing and wonderful Dartmouth is, I just found out that I received acceptance to the Environmental Studies Foreign Study Program to South Africa!!!! This is the same program that Katie mentioned in her entry, and I actually applied because of some encouragement I received from her. I am so incredibly excited to go and feel so blessed that Dartmouth has opened these kinds of doors for me. I am loving being home but I can’t wait to get back on campus this spring and see the team.

-Kelsey Johnson'11 (Carlsbad, CA)

The Best Adventure of My Life

Hola from Espana! As Katie Hirsch said in her entry recently, Dartmouth has provided us with some amazing travel opportunities, not just with the team, but on our own as well. I am in the middle of experiencing that right now!


I, along with teammates Kendall Houston and Madeline Baird, took this Winter as a transfer term to the Universidad de Salamanca, in Salamanca, Spain. I am not even sure where to start about this amazing adventure we are in the middle of! Since I was young, I’ve had the dream of studying abroad in college. This dream was part of the reason I chose Dartmouth volleyball: the fact that we have the freedom to follow our passions (no matter where in the world they take us), while still competing on a division I college team is spectacular. People always talked about it, but I never really appreciated it until this winter when we went away.

We’ve been here in Spain since the beginning of January, and I can’t believe it’s already March. Time is flying! We’re taking Spanish language, Spanish Literature and History classes here. Salamanca, the city where we are living is great. It’s absolutely beautiful, pretty small, and full of young people because of the University. We’ve done lots of exploring here, and lots of traveling in Spain. We went to Sevilla and Madrid, and we are going to Barcelona next week, and Basque country the week after that! Our Spanish has gotten SO much better already, and keeps getting better every day. We have class every day, but usually take Fridays off to travel, including to Morocco, London, and Rome. I can’t believe that this life I am living right now is real! We’ve been taking tons of photos, and writing in our journals, and I am having the time of my life. Being with my teammates makes it even better. This week, we went and practiced with the University of Salamanca women’s team! The girls were so nice, and it was good to get some practice. They taught us all the Spanish words for “I go!” and “Your ball!” and “set me!”. Maybe we’ll bring those back to Dartmouth!


In addition to being the best adventure of my life, being abroad has made me appreciate Dartmouth. I can’t wait to come home and tell stories, share pictures, and be with the rest of the team again! I think that after realizing how much traveling you can do in a weekend, we will explore New England a lot more and take advantage of all the opportunities around us at Dartmouth. We are so lucky!

-Annie Villanueva '12 (Santa Barbara, CA)