The end of W14

Well, the end of term is upon us and it feels like winter has gone by too fast. After Winter Carnival ended, we headed straight into midterms which inevitably come hand in hand with loads of reading, late nights, and Reece’s peanut butter cups. On the contrary, the last couple of weeks have been full of fun outings and new discoveries.

I happen to be, yet another, west coast kid from Los Angeles, so the insane downpour of snow was both beautiful and exhilarating. Since I strongly identify as a nature girl, getting outside is critical for my mental health. Sometimes, I find myself just looking up in awe of the sparkling little snowflakes—absolutely mesmerizing. After a few days of freezing cold snowfall, the sun started to peep through the clouds which was truly lifted everyone’s spirits during midterm season. The constantly changing weather patterns confuse little west coast kids such as myself. I frequently learn new things about the East Coast climate from natives or upperclassmen. For example, I was walking home from a class when I nearly slipped and fell on what I though was a puddle. Later, I learned that this “puddle” was a frozen puddle. (One of my teammates informed me is called “black ice.”) Thank goodness for my trusty bean boots. On a positive note, apparently melting snow means prime snowball weather. One night, Julia and I had a blast on the way home from dinner rolling tiny snowballs into massive snowmen bases and proceeded to throw them at one another. The looks we got from some upperclassmen... Amazingly enough, some of the team was

able to get out on a Saturday and head to the slopes. Some snowboarded, some skied, and everyone had a great time in the snow. Another night, the team went to Freshman Formal together! We pulled a classic group of teenage girls and all got ready together curling our hair and doing each other’s makeup. Once we were all done up, we went out to a classy dinner at Murphy’s and headed over to the Hanover Inn where we danced the night away. Overall, we took advantage of a wonderfully planned event and had fun meeting some of our other classmates while having a great time. 

Volleyball wise, we continue to push ourselves in the gym technically, physically, mentally, and tactically. As a team, we have made strides in conditioning, lifting, and our volleyball technique. There are only 10 of us from the team on campus, but we have created such a competitive yet fun environment in the gym and weight room that the team feels bigger than ever. From step-dancing in the weight room to crushing sprints at 7:30 a.m., we have grown as a cohesive group as well as stronger athletes in all accounts. 

Over the last two weeks, we have started meeting with the Assistant Athletics Director for Leadership, Steven Spaulding, to explore goal setting in depth and set some of our own goals. We discussed the importance of setting goals and dreaming. Steven had us each do some “homework” regarding our own personal goals for volleyball as well as dreams as an individual human. To help voice our goals, Steven had us all stand in front of one another while we gave a quick explanation of our goals in the near and distant future. As we went down the line, we heard of teammates plans to become the CEO of their own company and empower other women to do the same. Others dreamed of winning the Ivy League or traveling the world. The experience was eye-opening and I learned more about my teammates than I thought I would at a goal setting meeting. I can’t wait to see what the last two weeks of classes hold for the team and me. I have enjoyed my first real winter so far and am looking forward to having my whole team back playing in the gym together for spring term!

 Molly Kornfeind ’17

My First Winter

So no, I'm not a freshman, despite the fact that apparently I still act like one. But this winter has really seemed like my first true "college winter," despite having been at Dartmouth for three wonderful years. My freshman winter was more of a muddy excuse for a season, as exemplified by the fact that they had to import snow for the Winter Carnival snow sculpture, which was crafted on top of a green (okay brown) Green. Having grown up in San Francisco, I'm pretty sure I was more excited that I was going to get to go to school in the snow than I have been for just about anything, so to say I was disappointed when the average temperature was 40 and we got almost no snow would be a very big understatement. So my sophomore year, I did the logical thing that everyone does when they want freezing cold weather and feet upon feet of snow - I went to Africa, where it was the middle of the summer. And while I maintain that last winter was one of (if not the) most transformative experiences of my life (so I absolutely second the props given to Dartmouth Athletics in the last player spotlight about how incredible it is that we can study abroad), it's definitely been a different sort of adventure being back on campus. 

Due to some changes in transfer term policies and pre-med requirements, the population on campus right now is much higher than a normal winter in Hanover, when everyone seems to want to go somewhere where they can soak up some vitamin D (although yesterday I defied the idea that you can't get sunburned in Hanover!). To make things even more happening, this past weekend was Winter Carnival AND the start of the Winter Olympics! I'm not sure who exactly told me that it would be okay to not touch my backpack for 4 days, but I definitely agree with them even if some professors don't. This weekend was the perfect break from the chaos of winter term academics and a great chance to revamp before heading back into the remainder of the term. Winter Carnival, like Homecoming in the fall and Green Key in the spring, can sometimes get a reputation for being little more than the college's excuse to ignore work for a few days and hang out. However, the big weekends here are perfect termly reminders of how lucky we are that this is our home base for four years - it seems like every weekend I'm hearing about something incredible to do just right around town! This week's fun fact is that we're only 15 minutes away from the longest ice-skating trail in North America! I'm not going to say my performance on it rivaled that of the Sochi competitors because I wouldn't want them to get their feelings hurt, but I do think that the 2018 US Figure Skating team should be seriously considering my recruiting tape.

We all talk pretty regularly about how grateful we are that we have the opportunity to go to Spain, Argentina, San Francisco, or Texas (and that's just this term!) while being D1 athletes. However, sometimes in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, especially in the winter when we're trying out new things or taking daunting classes (one of our 14s, Elisa Scudder, is in her first science class - Physics for Future Leaders!), it's easy to forget that we have an incredible place to call our second homes when we return from our globetrotting adventures. Seeing alums come back and talk about how much they miss the little things that we take for granted on a daily basis is great not only because alums are some of the coolest people I've ever met, but also because it's a little reminder of the fact that even when it's 6:30 AM and -20 and we're walking to practice and cannot feel a single extremity, we're surrounded by beautiful snow-covered trees on our way to play volleyball at a D1 school before going to classes led by the best undergraduate faculty in the country (and then, to really help out with the first part, the library sells really fantastic coffee :)). But now that Winter Carnival is over, it's time for us to recover from the frigid Polar Bear Plunge, catch up on those readings that weren't as important as ice skating or watching Olympians actually ice skate, and get to work because somehow we're already on week 6, and the second round of midterms are right around the corner! But luckily every TV and computer on campus has started streaming the Olympics, so we will not be short on study breaks :) 

Alex Schoenberger '15

The Perfect Dartmouth Winter

As a beach girl and player from Santa Cruz, California, the concept of a New England winter, let alone the Polar Vortex, was both daunting and exciting.  But honestly, it’s much better than people make it out to be. Although cold is not a fit description for the morning walks to conditioning, maybe frigid tundra would be more suitable, the right down-coat and gloves make it manageable. In fact, Hanover’s winter has brought us closer together as a team and provided some great bonding opportunities and memories. 

This past week has been my favorite of the term by far. We’ve had a lot going on, including sporting events, volunteering, and four birthdays (mine, Holly, Molly, and Paige). Last Saturday (the 26^th) we all met up at the Dartmouth Men’s Basketball game against Harvard where we volunteered our very own Emily Astarita to participate in one of the halftime shows. Emily, always the competitor, made us proud and took home a special prize! After the game, my teammates took me out for a birthday dinner at Molly’s Restaurant, which hands down made my day.

On Sunday (the 27^th) we volunteered for the Special Olympics held at our very own Dartmouth Skiway. We started our adventure by catching the bus outside of the HOP (Hopkins Center) and singing along to the bus’ music all the way to the Skiway. Getting off the bus we began our trek to our volunteer spot – cheering on the skiers at the top of the hill. We had no idea how amusing and difficult this climb was going to be. A chairlift would’ve come in handy! We had trips and falls and at certain points were crawling to get up slippery parts. Reaching the top was worth the comical struggle of our climb though.

As each contestant started the race, we burst into cheers. It was extremely rewarding to see the pride and sense of accomplishment as the athletes pushed out of the starting gate. Some contestants clanked their poles together heading into the first turn, expressing delight and gratitude. It was an experience we will always remember and reminds us how lucky we are to be collegiate athletes. Dartmouth athletes. When the skiers had gone and it was time to leave, we began our treacherous descent. To onlookers, we must’ve seemed like buffoons. Every few steps one of us would fall, sliding down the hill consumed with laughter. It was definitely a team effort to get everyone down in one piece: we even had to carry a few teammates at certain parts. It’s a good thing we’re working out and staying fit!

In addition to practice and conditioning this week, we’ve pushed to our limits in the weight room – literally. One of our goals this term is to be a top team in the weight room. We’ve tested for our maximums in Squat, Bench, Hang cleans, Verticals, 10 yard-dash, and Pro Agility. As each member of our team strives to set a personal record, the bond we have as a team is strengthening and flexing as well. The support and encouragement heard during these sessions is inspiring. The gym falls silent and all we can here are the voices of our team yelling and cheering at the top of our lungs, pushing our teammates to do better and succeed.

 

This term is flying by so fast, it’s hard to remember that we have already had a month of classes. I’m so excited to spend the rest of my time here at Dartmouth with my lovely teammates and look forward to making more memories with them. They make my day everyday with their gut laughter, smiles, support, and kindness; my time here wouldn’t be the same without this part of my family. Go Big Green!

Kendall Ronzano '17