Sunshine and Spring

Now that we’ve finished all of our official spring games, and team practices are coming to a close, the Big Green is moving outdoors – to volleyball on the Green. The men’s club volleyball team has been setting up a net for some outdoor volleyball, and we’ve been all too happy to play against them. It’s finally getting consistently warm, and it’s the perfect sunny spring temperature for some grass volleyball. After a long day of conditioning and lifting, there is no better way to relax and prepare myself for the library than getting some sunshine and playing volleyball.

We even had a guest visitor to our game yesterday – Dartmouth’s president, Jim Yong Kim. We were playing a friendly game of the women’s team verses the men’s team when President Kim walked by, and offered to serve the ball in for us. After giving the men’s team a tough serve (and after winning the point) he high fived all of us and went on his way.

Most other Colleges are getting out of school, but I couldn’t be happier to have more time on campus, and have the chance to really enjoy the New Hampshire spring. I look forward to more outdoor activities, but especially to being on the green with my team.

- Elisa Scudder '14

The Green Community

Though there are still cloudy days and the occasional snow flurry, it’s springtime in Hanover, and the Green is green once more! Though covered in feet of snow all winter, the grass has now returned. The Green is beautiful again, and we Dartmouth students are enjoying it to the fullest.

After surviving my first real winter, I was ready for some sunshine again. Sure, the snow was pretty and fun for a month or two, but the spring is where it’s at. As a Californian, I wouldn’t exactly call the temperature ideal yet; however there have been a number of beautiful days for us to enjoy. You know the kind… Those days when everyone wants to be outside. When it feels acceptable to break out some sandals. When the sun is shining and the temperature is pleasant, but not too hot. On beautiful spring days like these, the Green is the place to be.

Dartmouth students love the Green because it is perfect for many things, like eating, studying, playing, or sleeping. I happen to be an extreme case- the Green is by far my favorite place on campus. When it is even a little bit warm, you can find me on the Green. Last Friday, I spent six straight hours out there, eating lunch, playing Frisbee, and just hanging out.

I love the Green for a couple reasons. Being so large, it has plenty of room for activities. The most popular Dartmouth pastime is Frisbee, which I am just starting to get ahold of. Other common ones are football, soccer, baseball, and even volleyball! The Green is also a beautiful place just to sit and do work without having to be in the library. The sunshine somehow makes studying substantially more bearable. The most important reason is the ability of the Green to bring people together. On the Green, you can really see and feel the sense of community that brings most people to Dartmouth in the first place. Because it is the central part of campus, everyone is always walking by. This makes it easy to see your friends, to meet other people, and to forge bonds through relaxation or play. For example, one day I started throwing the Frisbee around with two of my friends. After about an hour, I found myself playing with about six people that I had never met before and having a blast.

The Green is a central place that all students can enjoy, whether it be alone, with friends, or with new acquaintances. The love that Dartmouth students share for the Green magically brings everyone together as a community. This is why the Green is my favorite place to be.

- Meghan Cooney '14

P.T.D - "Play 'Til Death"

So our team has entered into our fourth week of training, and we are coming up on our last spring play date this week against Boston College. Practices have started to pick up, and we are shaking off all that rust from the winter!



As we get back into the swing of things, our team has adopted the saying of "P.T.D. Play Till Death." Since it is only the spring, and we have such a long time until our season, it can sometimes be difficult to remember why we are putting in so much effort when August seems so far away. In order to keep motivated we use P.T.D. as our daily reminder to keep pushing ourselves and know that we are working hard for a reason. It is so easy to get lost in all the things going on around us, but when you hear someone yell "P.T.D." you know it is time to WORK!


As our last spring play date is getting closer, our team has begun to focus on smaller details of our volleyball game. For the setters, Alissa and I have been working really hard on more accurate ball placement for the outside and middle sets. We hope that focusing on these smaller details will make our last match as competitive as possible!


By Thursday, our team will be ready to P.T.D!!!


- Kendall Houston '12


* photo taken from www.images.google.com

The Little Green

Dartmouth Volleyball is back for spring season, and we're so happy to be reunited. After spending the winter mostly apart, we've been so excited to jump back into training together. The team has been conditioning in the morning, lifting and practicing in the afternoon, and working hard doing it. We all like to challenge each other in the weightroom and sprints. Alissa (Santa Maria '13) and I have an ongoing competition- I think she's one victory ahead of me right now, but not for long!

It's definitely been an adjustment to get back into the swing of classes and homework after being in New York, but it feels good to start practicing together again. We have been working on our new and improved quick offense, and despite a little rust at the beginning, we are getting the hang of it! We had our first Spring tournament this weekend where we played 6 sets against UNH and Hartford. We ended up 4-2, and got some great practice playing together.

There are only 8 of us on campus right now, so instead of the "Big Green" we've been jokingly calling ourselves the "Little Green". Spring is always an awesome time for our team to bond- there are fewer of us, and we haven't seen each other in forever. We spend a ton of time together both training and off the court as well with lots of impromptu team lunches, dinners, and homework sessions. We're all starting to get so excited for season this fall, and can't wait for our new 15's to join us! GO LITTLE GREEN

- Annie Villanueva '12

"There is Nothing Better Than..."

Since most of fall term was spent in a class-gym-library cycle, with some sleeping and eating here and there, this winter we (the freshman) have really gotten a chance to get involved with all the wonderful things here at Dartmouth. By far the best thing we’ve done this winter was helping out at the Girls & Women in Sports Clinic in Lebanon. We had the opportunity to teach kids ranging from 5-12 some basic volleyball skills, showing them how to pass, set, and over-hand serve. We all got a chance to explain each skill, which gave me a new appreciation for coaches who work with younger players. It was beyond adorable watching a group of 5-year-old girls, most of whom the ball was bigger than, pass & set back and forth.


Sports have played such a huge role in my life, eventually allowing me to be at Dartmouth, so being able to give some of that back was amazing. While most of those girls won’t become professional volleyball players, being able to show them what sports can add to your life was the best way to give back to my new community here at Dartmouth.

Another great thing about being a female athlete is the chance to bond with the other teams here at Dartmouth. The women’s field hockey and soccer teams were also at the clinic with us, giving us the change to spend time with other athletes. The athletic community is so strong here at Dartmouth, and being able to bond with other freshman athletes is a great experience. We are all going through winter training and experiencing our first out of season term, giving us so many things in common (but mostly, we can all bond over being sore all the time!). Having more free time this term allows us to explore all the great things Dartmouth offers, both through the athletic department and the school itself.


There is nothing better than being able to share what I love and introduce volleyball to younger girls, and I wouldn’t want to be doing it with any other team or any where other than Dartmouth.

-Elisa Scudder ’14, Ashburn, VA

I Believe I am Making a Difference

Hi everyone, from the Big Apple! I'm writing this from my teeeny tiny apartment in Manhattan, where I am living and working for this term. I want to give everyone an update about what I've been up to on my off-term - an opportunity I am lucky to have had thanks to the D plan.


This term I am working as an administrative/programming intern and teaching artist for a New York non-profit called Art Start. Art Start runs art and music programs in several homeless shelters in Manhattan and the Bronx, giving a creative outlet to New York's most at risk kids. Working here has been one of the most powerful experiences of my life - I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity. Every morning, I work in the Art Start office, helping my boss, Johanna, the executive director, catch up on expense reports (I'm getting really good at excel spreadsheets!) or doing research and helping to write grants. Because Art Start is so small, I've been given a lot of responsibility on the administrative side of things. Its a ton of work - running a nonprofit is NOT easy - but such good experience, and I've begun to feel really invested in the organization, and believe that I'm really making a difference.


My favorite part of the day though is teaching workshops! I help teach two visual arts workshops on Mondays and Wednesdays, and music on Tuesday and Thursdays at two different shelters. I have fallen in love with the kids, and in love with teaching. It's hard work - the kids can be realllly rowdy, and they vary from age 5 to 12, so keeping everyone quiet and focused can be extremely challenging. But there are moments where everything comes together - we write an awesome song together, or create a mural that everyone is proud of, and that's what I live for! These kids come from extremely tough backgrounds and upbringings, and many of them have 6, 7, or 8 brothers and sisters, all living in the shelter. Art Start gives them the chance to express themselves, receive 1-on-1 attention from a stable adult who cares, and makes them feel special and appreciated. Although most of these children will not grow up to be artists or musicians, I hope that the time we spend with them and the bigger lessons they learn about confidence and respect will allow them to grow into proud adults who can break the cycle of poverty, gangs and violence they were born into.


I'm so thankful that Dartmouth has given me the chance to experience something so different from the small town in California where I grew up. I'm also lucky enough to have teammate Kendall here, and its fun to enjoy city living with her. Although we miss the rest of the team, who are having adventures of their own, scattered around the world from Hanover to Barcelona to Bangkok to Bolivia. I work from 9 to 9 every day, and I spend a ton of time riding the subway and hustling around the city! Its true what they say about New York - this city really doesn't ever sleep. But I think this is the experience of a lifetime, and I can always sleep when I get back to Hanover!

Lots of love from NY
Annie "Mama" Villanueva '12, Santa Barbara, CA
Annie's Art Start bio: http://art-start.org/the-family/teaching-artists/

From the Other Side of the World

Amber (on the right) & her roommate in front of Rama V/Chulalongkorn statue

Back at Dartmouth it is common to take the winters off and study abroad. Unfortunately there are not many options for Engineers to study abroad and get credit towards their major. Luckily Dartmouth recently established a semester abroad exchange program with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. And that's where I've been for the last month and a half.

My first impression of Chula came on orientation, we arrived at school and were told that due to inter and intra university sporting games, we would not have school for the next two weeks. So I went to Vietnam for 10 days and had an amazing time. Then I came back and started school a bit later than expected.

Now that I've gotten into the swing of things my weeks consist of five 3 hour classes spanning Monday through Wednesday. Thai class on Monday and Thursday and the occasional volleyball pick up game Tuesday and Thursday nights. Classes are very different than Dartmouth. The pace is much slower and the students have a bit less enthusiasm for the subjects. However, the Thai students have been more than welcoming. In almost every class people have approached me to see how I am doing or if I need anything.

Wat Po Temple in Bangkok

I was also set up with the university women's volleyball team and now have become good friends with many of the players. Last week I was invited to one of their birthday dinners at an amazing restaurant right on the river that runs through the city. The atmosphere was great as we were serenaded by a wonderfully singing Ladyboy.

So far I am in love with Thailand. Not only am I getting a different perspective on a subject I love, I have been able to play volleyball with locals, eat full meals for less than $2 everyday (and the food is amazing), live in a tropical climate (sorry for everyone who is buried under the 10 ft of snow back home), meet some amazing people from all over the world, and finally, travel! (We are heading to Ko Tao, Turtle Island, this week).

This experience has been once in a life time and so far I can't get enough of it, but it has also made me realize that I am very lucky to have amazing friends and family back home waiting for me. Being away really makes you appreciate the people and things you love at home.

--Amber Bryant '12, Libertyville, IL