At Dartmouth, a student’s journey of leadership development begins with self-knowledge. From the first year through graduation, undergraduates are invited to explore what they value and how those values shape the way they engage with the world around them.
For 10% of first-year students, that journey starts with Dartmouth Leadership Attitudes and Behaviors, aka D-LAB, a seven-week program held each winter term. In small, peer-led groups, students explore their values, practice collaboration, and engage in candid conversations in a setting where there are no grades attached.
“I found that the kind of leadership I’m engaging in is different from what people imagine,” says Ajayda Griffith ’27, a D-LAB student director. “I’m helping others work with a team, helping build other people’s skills. And that is also leadership.”
The community-building impact, students say, is lasting.
“They will remember how their facilitators made them feel, and they will remember who they can reach out to if they need a resource,” says Liza Lopes ’26, a D-LAB student director who is also treasurer of the Dartmouth Alliance for Children of Color and is active with the FUERZA Farmworkers Fund.
D-LAB prompts students to have conversations that prompt a holistic exploration of their personal values, says Assistant Dean for Student Life Jenny Adams, who manages the program, which is co-sponsored by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy. That foundation supports continued development in student organizations at Dartmouth and beyond.
“Before you can know how you interact with the world, you have to know your own personal philosophy,” says Bob Coates, associate director of the Rockefeller Center.
Many students who participated in their first year return in later years as D-LAB facilitators and directors. In taking on those roles, they mentor the next class while deepening their own growth and expanding their understanding of leadership along the way.
Benna McDermott ’26, also a student director, says that feeling of consistent community is at the heart of what makes D-LAB meaningful.
“Freshman year especially is a very tumultuous time, and even the idea that once a week you and a group of people are getting a meal and good conversation together—that consistency is really important for first-year students to have,” says McDermott.
That spirit of reflection connects directly to the Dartmouth Principles, which envision a community where well-being is a shared responsibility. Leadership development at Dartmouth fosters leadership as contribution, rather than authority.
As students move into their sophomore and junior years, the Center for Career Design’s programs—including the Career and Life Design Immersion, which will debut in spring term—help translate personal values into real-world direction. Through design-thinking exercises, students are encouraged to experiment and build paths that align with who they are. They also undertake employer-based projects for real-world experience.
The skills students build along the way extend well beyond campus. “The ability to identify values and take steps towards achieving your goals based on those values are things that are extremely valuable in a professional setting,” says Lopes.
Legacy Summit Workshop
By junior and senior year, many students are stepping into significant organizational roles. For students affiliated with Greek chapters and student societies, the Legacy Summit, which was created this year, is intended to bring together new chapter leaders around four pillars: preparation, purpose, priorities, and planning.
The one-day workshop on March 1 included a “Designing Your Legacy” session with the Center for Career Design, which challenged students to look forward and ask themselves what impact they want to leave behind in the community.
“In order to leave a legacy, you need to be prepared, you need to have priorities, you need to have a purpose, and you need to plan,” says Hunter Preston Carlheim, director of the Office of Greek Life and Student Societies.
Chris Middelberg ’27, who participated in the Legacy Summit as the president of Bones Gate fraternity, says the program “prepared me to set meaningful goals for my organization and introduced me to a broad group of leaders and their perspectives.”
From a first-year just beginning to explore leadership to a senior guiding an organization, the undergraduate student experience is strengthened by co-curricular involvements and community contributions. Students learn that knowing who they are and what they stand for informs how they show up for others in the community.
For Griffith, who in addition to her work with D-LAB is the co-president of the Dartmouth Chapter of the NAACP and vice president of the Dartmouth Minority Pre-Law Association, the process reframed how she understands leadership itself.
“I definitely need to be doing something long-term that I love. I need to be doing something that really matters to me, and I’ve learned that here,” Griffith says.
