Since graduating from Dartmouth and its Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, Chris Koppel ’09 Th’10 has experienced a world far removed from Hanover. Whereas most recent graduates traveled to the urban jungles of New York City and Boston, Koppel, now a lieutenant in the United States Army, traded the mountains of New Hampshire for the expansive deserts of Iraq and Kuwait...

...Koppel’s liberal arts education enabled him to analyze situations and formulate plans differently than some of the other lieutenants who received educations that focused solely on military training, he said...

...While Koppel still has 2.5 years of service remaining in his military commission, he said he is unsure if he wants to pursue a career in the military or return to the civilian world.

“My experience in Iraq has been eye opening and I doubt I’ll ever be immersed in another foreign culture like I was in Iraq,” Koppel said. “I’m very proud to serve my country and am very thankful for the opportunity to serve as a platoon leader while deployed.”

Koppel, who majored in engineering as an undergraduate and was also a member of the Dartmouth men’s swimming and diving team, received a graduate degree from Thayer School of Engineering in 2010 and is considering a career related to renewable energy, a passion he discovered at Dartmouth, he said.