Eloise Taylor

My Experience with the Dartmouth Alumni Network!

An essential aspect of a college is how strong its alumni network is. The best alumni networks offer support and encouragement to current students and maintain a sense of community for graduates. 

In my experience, Dartmouth does just that. When I first got into Dartmouth, I heard so many people say, "Dartmouth alums are the friendliest, most helpful people," and I must agree with them!My first experience with the Dartmouth alumni community was my alumni interview, which occurred during my college admissions process. 

As any college applicant would likely be, I was super nervous about my alumni interview. However, my interview was wonderful and was the first moment I could really envision a future at Dartmouth.

My alumni interviewer was the nicest man! He's a recent graduate who is now attending law school, which made it easier for me to connect with him, given our shared interests in law and politics. Not only did we have wonderful conversations about Dartmouth and the school, but my interviewer was kind enough to introduce me to resources and programs at Dartmouth that he thought I would like. Most of the programs I had never heard about, but after finding out about them, I was amazed by how much these programs piqued my interest. Programs like these and people like my interviewer were the reasons I chose to attend Dartmouth.

Since I've been enrolled at Dartmouth, I've had even more opportunities to interact with and learn from alumni. 

Just this past winter break (or winterim), I participated in the Student-Alumni Winterim Chat Program hosted by Dartmouth's Center for Professional Development (CPD). This program matched first-year students with alumni for quick networking chats to introduce first-year students to potential career paths and opportunities. I was matched with a member of the 2001 class who had experience working in the government and with non-profit organizations. The chat was amazing! She was incredibly nice and answered my questions with so much kindness. Speaking with her introduced me to government jobs I never knew existed and helped me feel more comfortable talking to alums. She also offered to help me with my resume and run through a practice job interview with me, proving just how kind Dartmouth alums are. 

Here's the program description for the Student-Alumni Winterim Chat!

This term, I will interact with the Dartmouth alumni community even more as a participant in the inaugural program, the Tuck Pathfinders program. This program, in partnership with the CPD and the Tuck School of Business, will help first-year students learn more about career options and the job application process. Dartmouth alumni will speak to undergraduates and offer advice and support for them. There will also be workshops on job-related tools, like how to write a resume or create a LinkedIn profile. I am excited to learn more about career opportunities and alumni experiences through this program. I'll be sure to blog about my experience with this program soon. 

The Tuck School of Business!

Overall, I am incredibly thankful for the wonderful alumni network at Dartmouth and the help they've already provided me, even though I've only been here a few months!