This weekend was a very special weekend at Dartmouth. It was the 40^th celebration of Co-Education event, called Greenways. We are one of the last colleges to have gone co-ed in 1972 and therefore we have an incredibly strong alumni presence. This weekend hundreds of women alums formed panels and came to a breakfast, lunch, and cocktail reception.

The breakfast was lead by the President of the WNBA, Laurel Richie ’81. Laurel joked about how her eight year old niece had grown up watching women’s basketball, and that when she finally saw an NBA game she was confused as to why men played basketball. The luncheon was focused around another incredible keynote speaker, Rachel Dratch ’88. Dratch has been an incredible presence on campus this past year as one of the more famous alums in the arts world, famous for her four-year stint on SNL. Naturally, her speech had the audience laughing throughout the lunch. In between each meal were panels on things such as education, medicine, business, and theater. Each panel was stacked with accomplished alums willing to impart their wisdom.

Laurel Richie ’81, President of the WNBA at the opening address

At the reception at the end of the night, I performed with the Rockapellas. We sang an original piece by Beth Blatt ’79. She wrote a song entitled “One Woman” for the United Nations, which we had the honor of performing with some talented alumni. The piece should be on YouTube soon!

Other really incredible things this week included a lecture by Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of the article “Why Women Can’t Have it All.” The lecture hall was so filled that some people had to stand in the hallways to try and hear her speech.

This week was an incredible time to see how far Dartmouth has come as a co-educational institution. The women that have graduated are so accomplished and strong, and this weekend re-affirmed how lucky I am to be at Dartmouth College.

Anne-Marie Slaughter at a Voices in Higher Education lecture.

As you probably already know, Dartmouth has a system called the D-Plan which enables everyone on campus to take one or more “off-terms” in exchange for summer terms. Since I went abroad to Lyon, France on the Language Study abroad last winter, and was on campus this summer, this term, it was time to take a term off. So, I am living at home and working for an education publishing company – Educators for Social Responsibility in Cambridge, MA. Many companies are waiting for college kids to come knocking mid-winter because everyone else is back at school. So, I am the only student intern in the entire company right now. This makes for some incredible opportunities!

Another cool job I picked up was the Intern for Social Media at a start up company called Sharitive. The company was started by a Dartmouth ’08 and just by word of mouth, the two of us connected over blitz! Now, I maintain a Twitter and Facebook page for this new nonprofit organization. It is really impressive how much opportunity comes your way.

Something I was really worried about at Dartmouth was this mentality that, “I am on campus one term, off another.” And, “for goodness sakes please make sure my best friend has the same D-Plan as me.” As someone who was off two winters in a row…I can tell you one thing, we definitely do not all have the same D-Plan. But, it is so much better than I ever could’ve imagined. People ask how the plan works out and I will be the first to tell you it keeps things interesting. It also helps to show you who your true friends are very quickly. As I went off my sophomore winter, I realized who I went to blitz first and who continuously was checking in to make sure I was okay.

A member of “Tasty Tuesdays” in front of Leo’s Diner in Harvard Square!

Not only that, but it is awesome how tight we all stay even when we aren’t in the same place. In the Boston area we have started a group called “Tasty Tuesday” as a break from our work week to try one of the many delicious places Boston has to offer. This past week I flew to California to visit one of my best friends at Dartmouth while she was recovering from foot surgery. It was an awesome vacation and it was so cool to see the state from the eyes of a local, something you can’t do on vacation with your family. Many of my friends are flying in for Winter Carnival, a time when most people who are close by will come back to Dartmouth, even on off terms.

Visiting Carissa in CA…quite the change in weather!

So, that ten week off term probably looks a lot shorter and less lonely than anticipated at this point. And Winter Carnival is only two weeks away!

The bonfire during the day. Organizations add their own board with names of their members. The ’16′s ran around this up to 116 times that night!

And as per usual, the term has flown by! We are now in the last week with finals looming overhead. Two weeks ago was homecoming! This is possibly the most fun weekend at Dartmouth because all of the recent graduates return to campus to check out the bonfire and go to the football game. My friends who were on their off terms all returned and it was quite an enjoyable reunion. The traditions surrounding homecoming are what make homecoming. Each year the freshmen class builds a bonfire with their year on top. Organizations add boards with the names of their members and a huge structure is erected virtually overnight. Then, at night, it is lit and the freshmen are supposed to run around the bonfire 100 times plus their year of graduation. So, this year it was 116 laps, the equivalent of almost a half marathon! Believe it or not, many of the students do complete the feat, while others opt for only a few laps.

This past week I have been working non-stop on a student play called “True American Love” written by Laura Neill ’13. It is a work in progress and will be premiering this weekend. It is so interesting to be a part of this senior’s artistic process and be one of four people to premier the piece! It has been an experience that has truly made me value the talent of the people around me. A ’15 is directing, a ’14 is doing costume design, and the cast is made up of all grades. I am constantly impressed by my fellow classmates! It has also been cool because professors have come in and out of our rehearsal process to help us as actors, help Laura rewrite the script, and generally just show us how things come together in the theater. The experience has been an incredible process!

As for fun things – this past weekend I ran my first half marathon! I came a long way from my first 10K this summer. My friends and I drove down to Manchester as a part of D.E.R.T or Dartmouth Endurance Racing Team to the Manchester Marathon and Half Marathon. We ended up competing with many people from the New York Marathon, as it was cancelled due to hurricane Sandy! After finishing this, I am unsure if I will ever be able to run a full marathon, but the training has been a blast! Especially when you get to see views like the one below on your run each day!

And to no surprise it is midterm season already. I am a junior and I am still not used to how quickly these terms fly by! My time has been mostly devoted to the Theater department this term, which has been awesome. I am currently stage managing “The Lifers” by Maia Matsushita ’13. This is the same writer as the play that I stage managed this summer! She was granted a “Your Space” through the Bentley Theater. This means that she gets funding from the theater department to get props, rent the space, publicize, and put on a two night production! I was also cast in a student written show called “Contract” which will be produced in early November.

Another student organization I am involved in is called the Hill Winds Society. This is a group that was created to act as a liaison between alumni and students. I am also a connection student for the class of 1992 through HWS. Along with a current member of Hill Winds, I meet with the class of 1992 every time they come up to campus. This past weekend I met with the Class Officers who were up for Class Officers Weekend. The excitement that these alums have when they come up each year is just a testament to the fact that Dartmouth never leaves you. That is probably one of my favorite parts of being in Hill Winds and going to Dartmouth. The legacy and community left behind is quite incredible.

Words of Wisdom brought together women across all classes for a night of dinner and discussion.

Women’s Forum got off to a great start with our first meeting this past Monday. The term started off with a big dinner called “Words of Wisdom,” in which all the women’s groups on campus came together for a lecture and dinner. Wise words were shared by upperclassmen and it was a great chance for the ’16′s to meet some inspirational women on campus. We are looking forward to hosting some influential campus leaders and students in the coming weeks to discuss everything from Title IX to the elections.

One of the things that I am so happy about this summer, is the amount of time I have spent outdoors. Many of my other terms at Dartmouth have been too busy or too cold to spend as much time exploring as I had hoped. This term, I have done a fair bit of hiking and adventuring in the Upper Valley and New Hampshire!

Last week, my Theater 65 class met in Lyme, NH to have a BBQ with all of the actors and directors from our program.

BBQ in Lyme, NH with the New York Theater Workshop

It was not only held at the one of the most serene locations I have ever seen, but it was an incredible experience to be able to hang out with professors, actors, and directors alike. When else will you be able to chat about your family and future plans over s’mores with a professional actor? Sometimes a nice break from campus is needed to just forget about school work for a few minutes and enjoy the fact that we are living in such a beautiful place!

The view from our dinner!

A few mornings ago, my friend Kelly and I decided to be spontaneous and watch the sun rise! We had heard about a good spot where a lot of people go from Dartmouth called the Gile Fire tower. It is basically a huge fire tower that you can climb to the top of and have a view over the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont. After waking up at 4:50 AM and trekking about 20 minutes in the woods, we reached the fire tower. By 5:30 AM we were watching the sun rise over the horizon and all of the surrounding mountains…there may have been some singing of Lion King as well. The early wake up was so worth it for the view we got. And, when we got down, it still wasn’t even close to time for our classes or our morning team lift. So, we went to Four Aces diner in Lebanon to enjoy the “Early Bird Special.” I don’t think I will ever be up early enough to buy that again!

The sun rising from the top of the Gile Fire Tower.