From Gary Hobin ’68:
I graduated in 1968 as a History major. I went directly from Dartmouth to the University of Chicago to continue my history program—graduated with a Masters' degree in Social Sciences (History) in 1970. Having been commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant out of Dartmouth's Army ROTC program, I then entered on active duty. My plan was to serve the required four years, then get a "real" job teaching at a college somewhere.
I soon discovered that being an Army officer was the most real job imaginable. And twenty-odd years later I retired after serving overseas in places as varied as Germany, Jordan, Texas, and Georgia. From there, I went on to the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer—served overseas in Damascus and Riyadh. Then a few years as a corporate security manager in Riyadh—before coming to rest, so to speak, at the Army Command and General Staff College in Kansas. Where I am finally, formally, a college professor.
My history studies at Dartmouth provided the foundation for all these careers.
I specialized at U-Chicago in Middle Eastern History—based on the foundation of three Middle Eastern history courses at Dartmouth. As an Army officer, I studied Arabic culture and language—and got to serve in Arabic-speaking areas. As a Foreign Service Officer almost thirty years after graduation, I still found the habits of mind learned as an undergraduate in the History Department valuable. Now, as an assistant professor for students who weren't even born when I graduated, I find the scope of a major in history provides perspective and context. And I have returned to graduate school as a Ph.D. student—in history, of course.
History—a useful major? Heck, yes!
Warm regards from Kansas,
From Joe Saks ’05:
I finished my first year of law school at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and am currently ranked second in my class. I worked this summer for the Fairfield County (Ohio) Prosecutor's Office and for Judge Algenon Marbley of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. While working for the prosecutor's office, I contributed to a brief to the United States Supreme Court. I have also been accepted as a member of the Ohio State Law Journal.
