Alex Rego - Dartmouth College

Oh, how the time has flown! I excitedly look forward to my June 2024 graduation from Dartmouth College, when I will walk away from Hanover, New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and Government. I am spending the remainder of my senior year relishing in my friendships and exciting coursework, while also welcoming the independence and newness of postgraduate life. I am learning to navigate the most uncertainty I have encountered in my 22 years, and I have found this process to be net-positive! This past year, I had the opportunity to study abroad for the second time in my undergraduate career, this time focusing on climate science and climate justice affairs in San Francisco, Morocco, Nepal, and Ecuador with the International Honors Program. I also spent the summer interning in San Francisco at the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, where I wrote a People’s History of the Tenderloin neighborhood to advocate for housing justice and related social justice initiatives. The climate crisis (the focus of my study abroad program) and the housing/cost-of-living crisis (the focus of my summer internship) are felt acutely on Martha’s Vineyard, and have guided my academic and career trajectories. I plan to take this learning back home in some (still to-be-determined) capacity. And, in the vein of Martha’s Vineyard being my north star, I need to once again extend a massive thank you to all involved in the work being done at MVYouth. I was without words receiving this scholarship, and I am without words still. Thank you for shaping my understanding of community in a way that I carry with me to educational institutions, to workplaces, and in my relationships. This degree is also yours. Best wishes for the new year!