Unconventional Wisdom For New Grads

The standard advice given to college seniors doesn’t cut it anymore, according to Charlie Wheelan ’88, who teaches economics and public policy at the College. His recent book, 10 1/2 Things No Commencement Speaker Has Ever Said, offers a humorous and counterintuitive list of utterances he wishes he’d heard sooner. “I’d become sick of commencement speeches not long after my own graduation,” he writes. (Lawyer Marian Wright Edelman of the Children’s Defense Fund addressed his class on the Green.) In his slim volume illustrated by cartoonist Peter Steiner, Wheelan offers up honesty, as in “Some of your worst days lie ahead,” unconventional advice such as “Read obituaries,” and two unusual but direct pleas: “Don’t make the world worse” and “Don’t model your life after a circus animal.” He also notes, “Your time in fraternity basements was well spent.” (Fear not—he’s referring to “camaraderie,” not “libations.”) The book is based on Wheelan’s 2011 Class Day speech in Hanover. “I’m shocked by the extent to which the book has struck a chord,” says the author. “It’s great fun that a Class Day speech in Leverone now has a national audience.” The speaker for this year’s Commencement on June 10 was Teach for America founder and CEO Wendy Kopp.

DID YOU KNOW?

“he acted like a grizzly, but he was really just a big teddy bear.” —FOrmer sOCCer COaCh BOBBY ClarK ON KURT FOSHEY, LONGTIME EQUIPMENT MANAGER FOR ATHLETICS, WHO DIED AT 75 IN MARCH

“The College’s academic advising services, especially for underclassmen, are still largely inadequate.” —The DarTmOUTh eDITOrIal BOarD ON maY 18