Stephen M. Silver (Director of International Student Programs)

Oscar Romero came to the U.S. from Peru at the age of 16 to begin his education at Dartmouth. Oscar was fortunate enough to befriend then-Economics Professor Colin Campbell and his wife early on in his Dartmouth career. Naturally, Oscar experienced many challenges in attempting to adapt to Dartmouth culture, and to American culture. However, as noted by his wife, Dena Romero, “Oscar loved Dartmouth. He had a deep appreciation of everything the College had done for him. He valued his Dartmouth education and the support the College gave him when he was a student here. He believed firmly in the importance of a liberal arts education and recognized that his Dartmouth education played a key role in his development.”

Oscar and his family ultimately volunteered through the Friendship Family Program to help a Dartmouth Peruvian student who recently matriculated. When Oscar passed away after battling cancer, his wife Dena thought that the most appropriate way to honor her husband’s life and his love for Dartmouth would be for friends and family to contribute to the fund that was established by Upper Valley resident, Carola Lea, at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation (NHCF). “[T]he reason I chose to have the memorial donations sent to [NHCF],” Dena said, “[was] in gratitude and appreciation for everything Dartmouth had done for him as an international student.”

Carola first established the “Alliance for Dartmouth International Students and Upper Valley Citizens Fund” in 2002, with a gift to the Upper Valley Community Foundation, which is a regional division of NHCF. According to Cindy Chaves, a Foundation Officer at NHCF, the purpose of the fund was to “create and enhance shared experiences for Dartmouth’s international students and residents of the Upper Valley by providing opportunities for cultural, social and recreational activities, and to assist the international students in adapting to life in the Upper Valley.” Carola hoped that this fund would better enable international students to take advantage of the Upper Valley’s many social and cultural opportunities with help from the Friendship Family Program. Close to 20 Upper Valley families gave to the fund in Oscar’s memory.

In May 2006, Carola Lea had some ideas of her own on how NHCF could grow more rapidly. Carola believed that if the fund were to be transferred to the College endowment, it would garner a wider base of support. Carola also hoped that an endowed Dartmouth fund for international students would encourage involvement from the College’s international community—including international alumni and other prospective College donors who would be most interested in supporting programming and services with an international focus.

Connecticut-based couple Bernie Groveman and Barbara Ancona had a similar goal. They were interested in funding Dartmouth programs that would enable international students to acclimate to, and thrive at, the College. They felt it was important to build bridges between American and non-American cultures, and that many Dartmouth students who were not international would have a greater understanding of the world if they interacted more with international students. These links would only complement Dartmouth’s extensive academic Study Abroad programs and overseas internships. In the winter of 2006, the Groveman-Ancona family made a wonderful pledge for the new Dartmouth fund that was jump-started by Carola Lea’s generosity via NHCF and then augmented by the financial support of Oscar and Dena Romero’s friends and family. The result was the February 2007 creation of a College endowment that is designed “to support a range of programs campus-wide and encourage the greater Dartmouth community to get involved in international events and cultural exchanges that promote a better understanding of the world in which we live,” and is now housed at International Student Programs within the Office for Pluralism and Leadership (OPAL).

For further information about the endowed fund for international students, please feel free to write or call me, or to send an email to my Dartmouth account.

Contact info:
stephen.m.silver@dartmouth.edu
(603) 646-2331