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Dartmouth Families

Here and There

September 2007

Tamar Groveman '09 is studying Asian languages and linguistics in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures. Her father, Bernard Groveman, is a senior managing director at First Manhattan Co., an investment advisory firm. Formerly involved in the fashion industry, her mother, Barbara Ancona, is a homemaker. Bernard recently shared his reflections on Tamar's course of study and the place of the International Office in Dartmouth life.

We educated Tamar and her three siblings at home through middle school. With a home library of over five thousand volumes and almost every National Geographic published, coupled with minimal television viewing, our children became avid readers.

Tamar demonstrated an early interest in Japanese language and culture, partly from devouring my textbooks from when I was an exchange student and worked in Japan. Several Japanese friends and two summers of Japanese language camps helped nurture her interest.

Tamar has thrived at Dartmouth. She spent the summer after her freshman year in Dartmouth's program at Beijing Normal University and her Sophomore Summer living in the International House. She'll spend her entire junior year on a special scholarship at Keio University, Dartmouth's sister college in Japan.

We are impressed with the many opportunities Dartmouth provides undergraduates to build the skills needed to thrive in a global economy. Dartmouth leads the Ivy League and ranks third nationally in the proportion of students who spend at least one term studying abroad.

Relocating to a foreign country is never easy. We're proud of how Dartmouth's International Office has distinguished itself in helping new internationals adjust to Dartmouth life. The 9/11 terrorist attacks reinforced the critical role of the office in supporting the College's 1,500-plus international students, scholars, and their dependents as they navigate increasingly complex federal rules and regulations.

The International Office's efforts have engendered significant goodwill, maintaining Dartmouth's attractiveness to top-tier intellectual talent internationally, and enhancing international exchange and internship opportunities for Dartmouth students and scholars.

For Tamar, Dartmouth's greatest asset is her fellow students. She has found Dartmouth is filled with people who love to learn, but more importantly, who love life, embrace it, and want to help others do the same.