Recipient of the 2016-17 Dartmouth Alumni Award
Growing up in Roslyn Harbor, NY, you heard about Dartmouth from a friend’s older brother, but it was your visit to Hanover that sealed the deal. Struck by the small town feeling of the campus and by the warm hellos you heard as you crossed the Green, you claim that Dartmouth sprinkled “magic green pixie dust” on you.
Once at Dartmouth, you were excited to dive into journalism and joined the staff of The Dartmouth. A member of the Green Key Society and Delta Gamma, you also volunteered for the Tucker Foundation. A history major, you traveled to London on the foreign study program for an unforgettable term, accompanied by then-professor President James Wright and then-dean Susan Wright. Classes such as “Education 20” with Professors Ted Mitchell, Andrew Garrod and the late Faith Dunne, and “History of the Civil Rights Movement” with Professor of History Bruce Nelson influenced your career path.
Upon graduating, you felt called to service and spent a satisfying year working with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, where you were matched with a nonprofit, Community Children’s Ministry. You then combined your passion for journalism and education to write for Education Week. After earning a master’s degree in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, you worked for the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Your career is now concentrated on freelance writing and editing.
And, of course, dear old Dartmouth has evolved as a major passion in your life. Your engagement began with your service as a mini-reunion coordinator in the D.C. area. You then focused your energies on raising your children, but after a few years, wondering aloud if there might be opportunities for more family-oriented activities for Dartmouth alumni, you were encouraged to organize a trip to the Big Apple Circus for the historic Dartmouth Club of Washington, D.C. From there it was a quick journey to becoming vice president and then president of the club. You’ve excelled at planning creative events such as panels, nature walks, and community service projects that appeal to alumni with diverse interests. One of the standout experiences for you was an amazingly joyous concert given by the Dartmouth Gospel Choir, in town for President Obama’s inauguration, where Dartmouth alumni joined neighborhood residents at a local church. Organized at the last minute, this event and the rapid mobilization of Dartmouth alumni it required is indicative of the kind of passion you inspire in them.
After serving as president of the Club Officers Association you joined the Alumni Council, where you brought your talents to the Professional Development Committee. You then produced a fabulous 25th Reunion for the great class of 1990, and subsequently became a head agent. Your newest role for Dartmouth is as co-chair of a new Women of Dartmouth community for Washington, D.C. This project, the latest iteration of your wholehearted desire to bring alumnae together, promises to be a fabulous way to connect Dartmouth women in your area and around the world.
You are also engaged fully in your community as a Girl Scout leader and a member of both the Geneva Day School PTA and the Emmanuel Lutheran Church.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of your dear husband Jay Matson ’91, who you did not meet until six years after graduation, despite the fact that you were undergraduate students at the same time. Jay and your beautiful daughters, Maddi and Abby, are Big Green devotees and frequent partners in your travels to Hanover.
Meg, we are lucky to experience your delight of all things Dartmouth. In appreciation of your warm, creative, and energetic leadership, and the valuable contributions you have made to your alma mater, we are proud to honor you with the Dartmouth Alumni Award.