The Class of ’85 is a proud sponsor of Dartmouth Partners in Community Service.  Through our contributions to Class Projects our class is one of many sponsoring classes that provide funding to Dartmouth students pursuing social impact internships through a selection process managed by the Center for Service. A highlight for the students during their term off is their mentor relationship with a Dartmouth alum.

This summer Cecilia Torres ’18 interned at Youth Employment Summer (YES) Program in New York City. Her mentor was Ricki Stern ‘87. Read on for an interview with Cecilia about her experience.

Spotlight on Cecilia Torres ‘18

The Youth Employment Summer (YES) Program – NYC, New York

Mentor: Ricki Stern ‘87

The YES program pairs students in their junior or senior year of high school with a paid 6-week corporate summer internship. Cecilia had her hands full this summer making lesson plans, managing the program budget, and creating newsletters, as well as planning a four-day trip to Dartmouth in which the interns were exposed to college life. From her check-in at the halfway point of her internship, Cecilia seemed to be making the most of both her internship and her time with her mentor.

Q: What has been the best part of your internship thus far?

CT: I’d say the best part of my internship thus far has been witnessing the amount of drive and passion that these young people have. I am learning from them as much as they are learning from me.

Q: What has been the most challenging?

CT: Facilitating activities and lesson plans with a group of 14 teenagers with diverse personalities and quirks has been very challenging. Not being much older than them I have had to manage the boundary between friendliness and professionalism very carefully.

Q: Tell us about your mentor.

CT: My mentor is Ricki Stern. I had a dinner with her, Michael Stern and 3 recent Dartmouth graduates not too long ago. I am interested in pursuing a career in film, specifically production and Ricki has been amazing at exposing me to the world of documentary film and the possibilities of working in that industry.

Thanks to all who add to their class dues payments each year to help support our Class Projects. Most recently, our class has supported the following projects:

• Class contribution to Memorial Field renovations, featuring memorial plaques engraved to honor Dartmouth veterans who have died in service to our country. The Class of ’85 will be recognized with a plaque as one of 40 classes that made contributions to the project.

• Funding for student internships through the Center for Professional Development (CDP, aka Career Services).

• Funding for student internships through Dartmouth Partners in Community Service (DPCS).

CDP Internship Program

Our class currently gives $2000 to this program, which is the typical award to a student intern. We hope to raise this amount to $4000 with our Green Eggs and Dues program.

We are very excited about the impact our contributions have made. Here are two thank you notes we received from our CDP interns:

[one_half] [quote author=”Jeni Hendricks ’17”]

My name is Jeni Hendricks and I am a Dartmouth ’17 from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. After a challenging but wonderful first year at Dartmouth, I received the opportunity to intern for Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) in Washington, D.C. I was elated about the opportunity but soon found myself apprehensive when I was informed that the summer internship was unpaid. However, due to your generosity, I was able to spend June 3rd – August 1st on our Nation’s Capitol Hill. There are no words to describe the experience that I had this summer. I witnessed bills brought to and discussed on the floor, met lifelong friends whom I still keep in touch with, and got an insider’s perspective of what it may be like to be a Congressional legislative assistant one-day.

Thank you, Dartmouth Class of ’85, for your generous contribution and for ultimately allowing me to have a career oriented and unforgettable summer. I know that few people get the opportunity to live in Washington, D.C. for two months and because of that, I am forever grateful to you for your kindness and support of not only myself but all Dartmouth students, now and to come.

[/quote][/one_half]

[one_half_last] [quote author=”Isabella Coleman ’17”]

I am writing to thank you for your generous Class of 1985 Scholarship that allowed me to take advantage of what was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was able to intern in the White House Office of Management and Budget for two months over the summer, during which I got my first taste of the public sector. I learned about the inner workings of economic policy-making, increasing efficiency in operations, and large-scale crisis management as I assisted Obama and his team tackle issues like the Ebola outbreak and the unaccompanied children at the border. I could go on and on about the countless experiences I had and incredible people I met, but it was all possible thanks to your generosity, which I greatly appreciate and will always remember.

[/quote][/one_half_last]

The Class of ’85 Executive Committee is pleased to announce our involvement in TWO class projects.  Although similar in nature (supporting students during leave-terms), one program has a successful track record of 20 years (Dartmouth Partners in Community Service) and the other program (Center for Professional Development Student Internship) is brand new.  We are proud to announce that the Class of ’85 is the FIRST class to adopt this program for a class project!

In March, Steve Mandel, Chair of Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees wrote to all alumni via email. He noted,

The two centerpieces of President Hanlon’s academic vision are increasing experiential learning (learning by doing) and driving interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship around a number of the world’s most pressing issues. While experiential learning is hardly new to Dartmouth, both within the undergraduate and graduate school curriculums and through service and extracurricular activities, there will be renewed focus on this form of learning.

The new Center for Professional Development (CPD) Student Internship program is a direct result of President Hanlon’s priorities and we are so happy that our class gets to kick start the program!  In a thank you note to the Class dated April 7th, President Hanlon wrote,

Thank you so much for your wonderful gift to the Center for Professional Development. Your thoughtful generosity will enable our talented students to pursue the best learning experience possible, regardless of their financial need. In support of Dartmouth’s mission to nurture future generations of leaders, I’ve made experiential learning one of my highest priorities. The Student Innovation Center, Rockerfeller Center’s Public Policy Institute, and an ever expanding array of internships, like the one you’ll support, represent just a few of the ways we’re encouraging students to take their learning beyond the classroom in acquiring the skills and experiences that will help them change the world. I’m so appreciative of your support for this crucial area of student learning, and for your dedication and leadership on behalf of our alma mater.

Our Class treasury has donated $4000 to the CPD Student Internship and $3600 to the Dartmouth Partners in Community Service (DPCS) project, enabling us to support one student for each program for one leave-term each.  As we move forward with our involvement in both programs, we hope that class members will opt to make direct donations to our class project funds so that we may support more current undergraduates in exploring and pursuing their passions during leave-terms.  In future newsletters we will profile students who have benefited from these experiential learning programs.  Additional information and details on the each of the programs are provided below, including ways for you to become involved, beyond donating your dollars.

Dartmouth Partners in Community Service

DPCS was begun by the Class of ’59 and is now a project that has been adopted by 20 classes, including the Classes of ’86, ’87, and ’88. Currently ~40 students/year are supported through this program, which is administered by the Tucker Foundation. Undergraduates who plan to spend a leave term engaged in a “direct service project that contributes to the welfare, development, and fulfillment of other human beings” can apply for funding. “The DPCS program allows Dartmouth students to invest in their civic growth, personal growth and liberal education by participation in full-time, leave-term community service internships.”  Information can be found at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~tucker/funds-grants/dpcs-internships/

In addition to the community service engagement, DPCS interns are also matched with a Dartmouth alum from a participating class to serve as a local mentor.  This is a unique aspect of the DPCS program compared to other service learning experiences at other institutions. Alumni mentors meet with the CPCS intern at the beginning, middle and end of the internship to discuss the student’s internship goals and objectives, their plans, progress and challenges, and evaluate the experience. Mentors provide support as needed, in person, by phone or by email. Mentors need not be involved in the community service agency, but should be located geographically near the site of the internship. Serving as an alumni mentor is a great opportunity to connect with a current Dartmouth student and provide friendly guidance and support.

Past organizations that have hosted a DPCS intern include the Street Level Health Project in Oakland, California, the Staten Island LGBT Community Center, the drug addiction center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Dismas House in Rutland, Vermont which serves as a halfway house for ex-prisoners with histories of drug and alcohol addiction, the Children’s Aid Society in NYC, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, and the Baxter Community Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Are you interested in serving as a mentor to a future DPCS intern? You can find more information at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dpcs To be added to the list of potential mentors, please contact Linda Blockus until we have identified a classmate to serve as our DPCS point person.

Center for Professional Development Student Internship 

The Center for Professional Development is the new name for what we remember, back in the day, as Career Services (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~csrc/).  CPD will be the campus office that will handle the student logistics for the new Student Internship program.

Many undergraduates can find paid leave-term internships in large corporations that have formal (and funded) internship programs.  But what about students who want a real-world work experience with a small company, a not-for-profit, or other organization?  Undergraduates who lack financial resources may not be able to pursue opportunities of most interest to them (eg, doing set design for a small theater company, interning with the CEO of start-up company, working at a community newspaper) without funds to cover living expenses.  The CPD student internship is designed to expand leave term options for students.  Or, officially, the program is described as:

Gaining real-world work experience is a critical part of the educational process for Dartmouth undergraduates, and the flexibility of the Dartmouth Plan allows our students to pursue internships and jobs throughout the academic year.  Unfortunately, not all internships and leave-term job opportunities compensate students at the level needed to cover expenses or to allow students receiving financial aid to contribute the costs of their Dartmouth education. 

Classes who support the funding of internships through the Center for Professional Development (CPD) directly impact the student experience at the college. Class Project support allows current Dartmouth students to pursue fulfilling work opportunities that they would not otherwise be able to consider. Class funds will be distributed through an application process designed to identify students with compelling need for funding and will be used to help students cover travel costs, living expenses while working, educational expenses, and other related expenses.  Applications for funding will be reviewed by a committee comprised of staff from the CPD and the Office of Alumni Relations and will include representatives from other areas of the College. The Office of Financial Aid will serve in advisory role to ensure that distribution of funds complies with all relevant policies. 

As this is a new and developing program, we hope to be working closely with the staff at CPD and the Director of “Dartmouth for Life” in the Office of Alumni Relations Dan Parish ’89 (former Admissions Officer for Dartmouth and brother of our own Beth Parish ’85) to shape and enhance this program and promote it to other Classes for adoption.

Passion for Snow, the movie based on the book Passion for Skiing, is in production. The Class of 1985 helped fund the book and, indirectly, the movie. Here’s an article about the movie from the Manchester Union Leader.

An update on the progress of this project, which we’re sponsoring:

Things continue to move quickly as we close in on the finish of Phase 1 of our History of Dartmouth Skiing Project to produce the book,. It is hard to reach an end point. The story is fighting the wrap-up as we continue to get new information. This is like a marathon where we are desperately trying to get to the top of the last hill so we can hit the home stretch. We hope to introduce Passion for Skiing first at the Friday night of the upcoming Dartmouth Winter Carnival, Feb 12, 2010; and second at CarniVAIL in Vail Colorado on Friday, Feb 26, 2010.

Our book team has also been made aware that the book will be considered for the annual ISHA (International Skiing History Association) book Award if it is completed in time for their review at the beginning of 2010.

Currently we have submitted 5 chapters to the book designer/printer for printing preparation, have 9 chapters in final editing, a 15th chapter almost completed, and 1 chapter yet to write (e.g. this is the final concluding chapter). We have some 400 images being reviewed for printing suitability, and will be selecting these down to 250 or so. Finally we have 10 Appendices almost completed that will highlight some of the facts of our story.