Dartmouth heavyweight rower Matt Oatway (Cherry Hill, NJ) will serve as a link between Big Green athletics and the Upper Valley community as the Jaeger Civic Intern for the upcoming academic year. Matt will graduate in June 2012 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Public Policy with focus on Energy Policy.

The internship is named in honor of former Director of Athletics Richard G, Jaeger and promotes and facilitates local community service by Dartmouth student-athletes. The Jaeger Intern serves as a coordinator for matching community service by Dartmouth Athletic teams or groups to community needs and opportunities.

A cooperative venture between the Department of Athletics and the Tucker Foundation, the internship is located within the Department of Athletics, where primary supervision occurs, but a close working relationship with the staff of the Tucker Foundation is an essential component of the intern’s planning, training and project management. On-campus recruitment, community needs assessment, and evaluations are all areas of work and learning challenge for this internship. Oatway will also be responsible for writing a blog, so interested parties can view the work that is going on with the internship.

We asked Matt what his plans were for the year, "I'd like to work towards setting consistent themes for service throughout the athletic department.  The first, I want service  projects to be beneficial to all parties involved.  We're in a unique  position to help those around us by donating our time and our unique skills as Dartmouth student athletes.  Nevertheless, for community service and volunteering  to become truly embedded in the culture of the athletic department, its important to me that each athlete is enjoying what they're doing.  If community service can make a team work better as a unit, then it will be helpful to all parties involved. The last thing I want is for volunteering to become a resume booster, a chore, or mandated activity. 

The second theme is doing projects that focus on our community.  I'd like to see athletes focusing their efforts on problems in our own backyard rather than sending money to some distant causes.  I think this is important in making sure that we're not removed from the community, but rather an active part of it.  I really believe that working to address problems in the Upper Valley is the way for Dartmouth Athletes to have the largest positive impact."

Oatway replaces senior field hockey captain Virginia Peisch (Koenigstein, Germany), who held the position for one year.

Jaeger Intern 2009-2010

Jaeger Intern 2010-2011

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