Recent Dartmouth grads take home Marshall and Canadian Rhodes Scholarships

Dartmouth College Office of Public Affairs • Press Release
Posted 12/09/02 • Contact James Donnelly

Two 2001 Dartmouth graduates, Collin O'Mara and Amar Dhand, are headed to Oxford University in England, having recently won major international scholarship awards. O'Mara was named the recipient of a Marshall Scholarship and Dhand won a Canadian Rhodes Scholarship.

Dhand
Dhand of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, who is currently a student at Harvard Medical School, will study for a doctorate in education at Oxford. Why pursue education, especially in the midst of studying for an M.D.?

"Frankly," he says, "I believe to be a good doctor, one needs to become a good teacher."

Describing a recent trip to Vietnam, where Dhand helped to develop an HIV/AIDS peer education model, he says he learned about the importance of education in medicine, especially in the third world.

"Working on this mission has made me realize that in many parts of the world, education is medicine," he says.

At Dartmouth Dhand, a biology and psychological and brain sciences major, and English minor, served as president of his class from 1997-1998 and co-founded the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science . He was also active in a number of student groups and organizations including Milan, which organizes an annual south-Asian culture night, the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble, the Collis Governing Board and the Dartmouth Literary Society, which he co-founded. He was the recipient of both the Ernest T. Saeger 1914 Fellowship and the Dartmouth College Alfred K. Priest Fellowship.

The prestigious Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. Criteria for selection includes high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor.

O'Mara
O'Mara of Camillus, New York, will also study at Oxford, where the Marshall Scholarship will support him while he reads for a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics & Economics.

O'Mara, a history and classics major at Dartmouth, currently works with Syracuse, N.Y. mayor Matt Driscoll as Director of SyraStat, the city-wide accountability division which uses technology and data collection along with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping software to measure and improve performance of city services. SyraStat has saved Syracuse taxpayers over $5 million from the City's $196 million budget and received the praise of the New York Conference of Mayors for municipal innovation.

O'Mara had worked on Driscoll's mayoral campaign, coordinating the campaigns of more that 20 other candidates for city office. While at Dartmouth he directed Senator John McCain's youth outreach program for New Hampshire and later assisted with events across the country for the senator during the 2000 Presidential primaries.

During his sophomore year, O'Mara served as a staff assistant for New York Congressman James T. Walsh and immediately following graduation taught at the Beard/VINTA Alternative School for violent youths as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer.

"Citizens look to government to provide stability in times of uncertainty, protection in times of trouble, and compassion in times of hardship," wrote O'Mara in his personal statement. "I am determined to dedicate my life to public service."

At Dartmouth, O'Mara served as president of his class from 1999-2000, initiating community service projects throughout the Upper Valley. He worked with the Office of Student Life's "Older and Wiser" and "Leadership Discovery" programs, mentoring first-year students and as a Health Services Drug and Alcohol Abuse Peer advisor, where he initiated a school-wide alcohol education campaign. He also served on the Committee on Standards, competed in Mock Trial and sang in the Glee Club.

O'Mara participated in Classics Department Foreign Study Program and conducted field research in over fifty Greek towns/villages in preparation for his thesis, The Development of a Democratic Civic Identity and Civic Ideology: Athens from the Dark Age through the Classical Period (1150-323 B.C.) . At graduation, he received a Dean's Plate for 'Outstanding Service to Dartmouth Community' and was designated as a Presidential Scholar.

The Marshall Scholarships were established by the British Government in 1953 as a gesture of thanks to the United States for assistance received after World War II under the Marshall Plan. In addition to intellectual distinction, the selectors look for individuals who are likely to become leaders in their fields and make a contribution to society.

- James Donnelly