Goodbye to the 12s

From the Bus from New York

As I make my way back up the East Coast from New York up to New Hampshire, I cannot help but reflect upon the amazing memories that have constituted my four years at Dartmouth College. Last weekend, I, along with 1100 of my classmates, graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. One week later I return my alma mater, for my summer job with the Dartmouth Outing Club, with four very distinct lessons that I will carry with me from my collegiate experience.

The first lesson is that you should always take a chance. When I committed to Dartmouth in the fall of my senior year at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, I was the first in my family to attend college outside of Texas. There was obviously something enticing about being close to friends from home and family, but also for me, the opportunity to attend Dartmouth presented enormous potential to expand upon my understanding of the world and become part of the incredible Dartmouth community. I loved the challenge of living in a new part of our nation that Dartmouth presented. I knew that attending Dartmouth would provide a vital sense of independence and the freedom to discover new passions and excel academically. Taking this risk to study at Dartmouth College is absolutely the best gamble I have taken thus far in my life.

Through time at Dartmouth I learned that: we are capable of achieving great things that have the power to change not only ourselves but also those around us through hard work, dedication and passion. This lesson I believe each of the seniors have learned over and over again through our time at Dartmouth. During our collegiate volleyball career, we spent thousands of hours preparing to be the absolute best players possible. Winning the last match of the season, against league-leading Yale, for each of us exemplified the pinnacle of this dedication to the team. The reality that we never were able to win the Ivy League, as we had dreamed since our first day of freshmen preseason, did not undermine the value of being a four-year member of the Dartmouth volleyball family. Through volleyball, I learned the true value of being a teammate. The grind of training and overcoming obstacles and difficulties together cultivated the unbreakable bond of the 2012 class, and established friendships that will indubitably last a lifetime. As much as I would love to say that our class changed Dartmouth volleyball, I think the program more effectively changed us by consistently, relentlessly training us to be selfless, dedicated and compassionate players. Ultimately, being four-year members of the Dartmouth women’s volleyball program emboldened me and my classmates to become mature women, who are now capable of navigating the world’s web of complexities and challenges.

From my travels around the world while at Dartmouth, I learned a vital third lesson: we have the capacity, anywhere, even amongst the greatest difficulties, to encounter peace in this world. Through my travels to Spain, while studying abroad at the Universidad de Salamanca with classmates Annie Villanueva and Kendall Houston, volunteering at the Rio Beni Health Foundation in Bolivia, and interning at the Pan American Health Organization in Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity to journey across the world. Through these experiences, I became immersed in new cultures and gained fluency in Spanish. Each new place presented new challenges and opportunities to learn to adapt and find a balance amongst the chaos of change. The flexibility of the D-Plan allowed me to venture to new continents and gain the independence that has given me sense of confidence to continue to investigate my cultural and linguistic curiosity in the future.

Lastly, the design of the Dartmouth curriculum has allowed me to not only pursue studies in international relations, Spanish & Portuguese, and be a Division I varsity athlete, but also has allowed me to explore my artistic interests. During my photography class this spring, I learned the final lesson that: there is beauty everywhere, if we focus our eyes on the light of the world. I believe that the multitude of challenges presented by the stress of balancing everything while at Dartmouth has developed an unparalleled sense of perseverance, inner strength and sense of optimism for the human capacity to innovate and triumph. From my years at Dartmouth, I have gained a distinct confidence in our ability to teach ourselves to be positive and to then captivate others through the beauty of this perspective. Each of these lessons have challenged me to become a more actualized individual and have inspired my deep confidence in not only myself but also the enormous potential of the brilliant minds of my generation.

During the senior banquet this spring, each senior received a scrapbook full of personal notes from each team member. In my book, Lucia Pohlman wrote to me “may your life be an artistic masterpiece, just like you.” I think her sentiment speaks to the opportunity that Dartmouth offers. Upon entering our freshmen year, Dartmouth symbolically presented each of member of the class of 2012 with a blank canvas. After our graduation, I truly believe that we each have made a masterpiece that represents the unique, dynamic and beautiful individuals that we have grown to become through the amazing opportunities presented during our four years at Dartmouth.

Check out the tribute video for our '12s.  Click here