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Posted 06/09/02
Jonathan D. Altman, Co-Valedictorian
Dartmouth College 2002 Commencement
Mr. President, Members of the Board of Trustees, honored guests, family and friends, and fellow members of the class of 2002: I am honored to have the opportunity to speak to you today.
If you stand at the center of the Dartmouth green and walk twenty minutes in any direction you'll be lost in the woods. In his poem "Directive" Robert Frost states that you should get "lost enough to find yourself." This is a perfect place in which to get lost…some describe it as the middle of nowhere…but to Dartmouth's 50,000 living alums, 3000 members of faculty and staff, and over 4000 current students, Hanover makes just as big a mark on the map as Boston, New York City, or even White River Junction.
The reason Dartmouth makes its mark on the map, and the reason that we're all here in the first place, is education. As you make that twenty minute walk from the green into the woods, no matter what direction you go, you'll pass by hundreds of professors who are not only renowned in their fields, but also have an active interest in teaching and in students. During my four years here, I have enjoyed learning from and working with my professors - forming close bonds and friendships - and I know many of you have had the same experience. We truly do leave here with an undergraduate education second to none.
Dartmouth is also on the map because it serves as a both a point of departure and a home to which we return. I have had the chance to study abroad, not just once, but twice. Those two quarters were two of the most rewarding and enjoyable terms of my college career…and that's not just because there are more bars in Oxford than there are in Hanover. I may not have been able to convince the Brits that "aluminium" is actually pronounced aluminum or that we shouldn't drink until we are twenty-one. But, I did, through my two foreign study experiences, learn to see the world, and indeed my own country, in a new light. When we were young, Mister Rogers taught us to honor and respect our neighbors. As we've grown, while our definition of neighbor has expanded to encompass today's global world, his message still holds true.
Out here in the New Hampshire woods, it is easy to get caught up in our intense daily routines, to be lost in detail, complexity and time rather than in the woods. During the six months I spent away from the College junior year, I realized I had some regrets…but more importantly I reflected on what I wanted from senior year. I knew I wanted to spend time with my close friends. I also knew I wanted to take advantage of the things Dartmouth offers outside the classroom…that's not as easy as it sounds, given the countless organizations, activities, and events on this campus. But, I have no regrets about my senior year. Ordinary, everyday experiences - the hikes I've taken up Franconia notch, the dinners I've cooked with friends and the many plays, speeches and performances that I've attended - have made my last year here both meaningful and memorable.
Which brings me back to my first point - Dartmouth is a great place to learn. It is cliché, but true that academics are only one part of a college education. There can be no doubt that I have learned as much outside the classroom as inside.
After today most of us will travel much more than twenty minutes away from the center of the green. Some of us will probably end up lost in the woods anyway (and happy to be so) and some of us lost in big cities…but never truly lost, because Dartmouth will forever be the most important reference point on any map.
This ends my valedictory, but I cannot end without saying thank you, to my parents, Leonard and Gaylene, to my brother Matthew, my sister Katherine, and all of those whom I have come to know and love. Thank you.
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