A Dartmouth Welcome

Good afternoon, everyone!

To our parents, families, and most of all, members of the Great Dartmouth Class of 2028…Welcome to Dartmouth!

It was just one year ago that I heard those words myself for the first time.

And I can tell you, from experience: Whatever nerves you're feeling…whatever 'first day jitters'—and believe me, we've all had a few—they will very soon give way to excitement as you start this great adventure.

It may be tempting, too, to look around and feel a certain degree of self-doubt—to wonder if you belong, in this class of the best and brightest from all over the world. Let me assure you, first and foremost: You do.

You are here—out of tens of thousands who wanted to be in these seats—because you earned it. Because each of you has the potential to offer something unique to this community. Be bold enough to find it and share it.

I'll remind you, too: Those feelings of self-doubt can be a good thing.

My research as a cognitive scientist has been in the field of performance anxiety—for athletes, students, CEO's, and more. Why do we feel like imposters sometimes? How do we know whether we'll perform well in high-stress situations—like those you may find yourself in, at an Ivy League institution?

The truth is…those feelings of self-doubt actually predict success.

In fact, the only avenue to success is accepting that we—and those around us—will sometimes doubt us. The key is to use it as fuel: to gather more information, learn from your experiences, and seek out different points of view.

And guess what? There is no better place to do it than Dartmouth.

Quite simply: We are doing things differently. We're bringing in extraordinary students from every background, as demonstrated by this class—because we all benefit from engaging with different perspectives. This is how you will learn and grow, intellectually and personally. This is our north star: Dartmouth finds the broadest swath of promising students, who are excelling in their environment, and brings them here to learn how to think, not what to think, to be the next generation of leaders of our democracy.

The incredible faculty you will soon meet are crucial to that mission. Last fall, as Colleges and Universities across the country struggled to grapple with the terrorist attacks and ensuing war in the Middle East, Dartmouth led.

It would have been easy for our Jewish Studies and Middle Eastern Studies departments to retreat and teach from their own silos. Instead they came together. They hosted a series of panels that expressed their own views and brought in experts with drastically different perspectives.

They debated—intensely, but civilly. They decided, bravely, to live-stream the whole thing. Students like you were actively involved in these conversations that shaped the national discourse.

And when our campus disagreed over how protests occurred and were handled, our house professors led teach-ins—to allow different voices to come together on the topic.

These conversations were brave, and sometimes uncomfortable. Even for me. That is okay—because that sort of dialogue is how our thinking improves. Our house communities push each other to find our common humanity, even when we disagree.

These are the kinds of unique Dartmouth experiences you're now part of.

You'll build special bonds with our faculty, who are deeply involved in life at Dartmouth.

You'll have academic flexibility to chart your own path—and the opportunity, even this year, to start exploring potential careers and connect to our incredible alumni network of nearly 84,000 all over the world.

You'll learn the skills, inside and outside the classroom, to help change a polarized world. Starting at Orientation, through The Dialogue Project, you'll take part in a session called "Engaging Dartmouth: Values, Policy, Community," and have your first experience of what it means to be part of the Dartmouth family.

You'll hear from our upperclass student leaders and mentors, and start to practice skills that you will carry for the rest of your life. How to have a conversation with those who disagree with you. How to be comfortable being uncomfortable. How to find the common ground.

This is all possible because we strive to create an environment with shared community principles and an expectation that everyone will uphold those principles. You need that sort of environment to have the conversations that push thinking forward.

We will always defend free expression while making it clear: One group does not have the right to disrupt the educational experience of another. Protest can be important. Taking over shared spaces and declaring it space for one ideological view isn't free expression; in fact, it robs others of it.

One more important point. My commitment to you is that when I speak on behalf of Dartmouth, I will do it in a way that refrains from picking sides in contentious debates. This is because our job as an institution is not to be the critic or the dissenter—but to create the space so that you all can be.

In turn, here is what we ask of you: Embrace it when a classmate or professor pokes holes in your theory, questions your way of thinking, and presents new evidence that completely dismantles a foregone conclusion.

Seize those moments as an opportunity to engage in productive dialogue and debate. Use them to sharpen your argument or to allow your thinking to evolve. That's what learning in an academic community is all about!

Finally, don't ever be the reason another student doesn't feel welcome on our campus. That is not who we are.

To the parents, family members, and supporters here tonight: Thank you for entrusting us with your young people. I know there are some mixed emotions right now. Excitement, nervousness…trying to remember if you ever did teach them to do a load of laundry.

In between all those feelings…I'd encourage you to take a second and celebrate this achievement, which belongs to all of you. And know that your young people are going to be great.

This is Dartmouth, of course, and we will push them with a demanding curriculum, rigorous coursework and difficult discourse. But my promise to you is this: We will be there for your student at every turn.

If they find themselves struggling from time to time, be it physically, emotionally, academically, or socially, we will always be there to help—with comprehensive resources and support, whatever challenges may arise. I'm proud that last year we launched Commitment To Care—a comprehensive mental health and wellness roadmap to support our community.

We will also be there for the long-haul—to support students in their careers, to connect them with our incredible alumni network, and to help them seize the incredible potential we all see in them. After all: Dartmouth is family…and Dartmouth is for life.

Members of the Class of 2028, you earned your way to Dartmouth because each of you has the potential to become leaders in your fields…to initiate advances that will lead to breakthrough discoveries and improve the human condition.  

Your journey at Dartmouth will be challenging, rewarding and, at times, downright difficult, as any worthwhile journey should be. Know that as a community, we're excited to see where it takes you and are here to support you every step of the way. Best of luck to all of you, and welcome to Dartmouth.

And now is the moment we've all been waiting for.  

Students, it's time for you to process together to the very first meeting of your class.  Families and supporters--deep breath--I'd like to ask that you remain seated as our first-year students depart the stadium. Here's to a great year!