Dartmouth Families
“Enthusiastic Ambassadors”
January 2007
When Bob and Karen Hoehn of Del Mar, California, tell people that their daughters Jo Hannah '09 and Susanah '10 attend college in New Hampshire, they're always asked, "How are they handling the weather?" "Southern Californians are the most weather-conscious people in the world," says Bob, vice president of Hoehn Motors, which operates seven automobile dealerships in San Diego County. A native Tennessean, Bob knows something about New England winters, having graduated from Bowdoin College in 1974. And even though Karen attended college in her native California and in Israel, she also appreciates the New England college experience. "The girls had teachers and coaches who'd gone to East Coast colleges and each girl would say, 'There's just something different about them. That's why I want to go to college there,'" Karen recounts.
It was family friend, Derrick Cartwright, executive director of the San Diego Museum of Art, who inspired the Hoehn sisters to visit Dartmouth. Now Jo Hannah and Susanah are fully engaged in the Dartmouth experience, and Bob and Karen, major art enthusiasts and collectors, are also actively involved in the College as members of the board of overseers of the Hood Museum of Art. We sat down with Bob and Karen Hoehn at the end of November, while they were in town to celebrate Susanah's birthday and to watch her perform with Sheba, the hip-hop dance troupe.
Bob: When we were making our East Coast college sweep, of course we visited Bowdoin. But we have a friend, Derrick Cartwright, who was then director of Dartmouth's Hood Museum of Art.
Karen: Derrick said, "You need to come see Dartmouth because I'm so impressed with how they take care of their students."
Bob: We came on an absolutely incredible day. It was literally the peak of fall foliage, and we saw a bear cross the road on the drive here. When we arrived, students were out on the Green throwing frisbees and Jo Hannah thought, "This is it!" And I said, "You know sweetie, this is beautiful. But you've got to understand that in a few weeks it's going to snow." But that didn't scare her. And Derrick gave an extraordinary tour that got the kids, and us, very excited.
Karen: Dartmouth became the standard. Something was going to have to beat it out of first place and nothing ever did.
Bob: Jo Hannah also looked at Harvard on that trip, but it didn't even register. Susanah was equally impressed. But after Jo Hannah got in it became, "Gosh, do I want to follow my sister?" She's always forged her own path. She came here and got involved with Sheba, and it's been a big part of her life here. Susannah had never danced before, but she loves it. She also signed up to play polocrosse. And Jo Hannah plays club lacrosse, kick boxes, plays intramural volleyball, and she's going to Rome this spring on an LSA. They're both having a fabulous experience here, and we could not be happier.
Karen: We don't get the phone calls, "Oh, I want to come home." In fact, they haven't called! But better that than calling and being miserably homesick. So we're quite grateful.
Bob: Last night, we walked around after getting ice cream at Ben & Jerry's and were saying, "Can you believe this place exists? We're out in the middle of nowhere!" But it's an extraordinary place and they both get it. In terms of great community, there are very few schools that compete.
Karen: I get phone calls from parents at the girls' high school (the Bishop's School) who would like their kids to come to Dartmouth, and they ask what our experience has been. From the first time we arrived on move-in day, everything has been very well organized and hugely welcoming. Dartmouth just seems to do it right. They have students helping you move in, and they're great kids. The janitor in Jo Hannah's building is nice. Everyone is so welcoming—from the students to the faculty, to the person who helps you pick up your computer on the first day. It's all been very well done. I can't imagine being one ounce happier than we are.
Bob: We're pretty enthusiastic ambassadors. The First-Year Family Weekend was really great. I'd certainly recommend that to parents. Dartmouth does an excellent job of making you feel part of the community. And now we're also involved with the Hood, which is a very exciting museum. I think it's almost unique among the great college museums in this country. It's so outward-looking. It's here for the campus community, but beyond that they've done national and international exhibitions. To have this kind of resource here is just phenomenal, not only for Dartmouth but for New Hampshire and New England.
Karen: Susanah is taking an archaeology course where they go to the Hood to examine Roman coins. They pull out the coins and you get to see them firsthand. And you can make an appointment to go and look at any of the museum's artwork.
Bob: It took me a while to really understand that not everyone has a college museum that you can just walk in and take advantage of. It's a privilege.
If you would like to lead an outreach effort for Dartmouth parents, either in the United States or abroad, please contact Heidi Anderson.
RSS Feed