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Leah Threatte Bojnowski ’01

Leah Threatte Bojnowski, Class of 2001, grew up believing that she would attend Colgate University. Her father, a trustee of the University, had raised her to go to Colgate. When he suggested she apply to Dartmouth, Leah was bewildered. There was a plan in place for as long as she could remember. When she asked her dad why Dartmouth, he responded, “It’s the Colgate for smart people.”

Leah first visited Dartmouth with her younger brother, Lonnie. When she arrived in Hanover, she thought that Dartmouth looked like a giant farm. Unlike the other universities she had seen that had resembled castles, Dartmouth’s greenery and isolated campus reminded Leah of a farmstead. Leah and Lonnie, separated in age by just one year, wanted to attend the same college. They both agreed that Dartmouth could and should be their college.

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Leah (second from left) became a sister of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. while at Dartmouth. She is pictured with her sorority sisters in front of Dartmouth Hall.

After growing up in a predominately white, semi-rural suburb outside of Syracuse, New York, the composition of Dartmouth did not intimate Leah. Rather, it resembled that of her high school. In some ways, she believes this gave her an advantage. Unlike some of the other students of color, Leah was not entirely culture shocked upon arriving in Hanover. She was excited and eager to become involved with the Black community and build relationships with other Black students. She felt that the Black community at Dartmouth was one of the most welcoming she had encountered. She did not feel the need to validate or prove her blackness. No one asked her why she talked the way she did or what kind of high school she had attended. She felt like the Black students at the College were genuinely interested in getting to know her for her.

Though Leah felt largely accepted in the general social scene at Dartmouth, she felt unwanted in regards to romantic relationships. When reflecting on why she regretted her decision to attend Dartmouth at times, Leah speaks of the way in which she felt invisible on campus. She had also experienced this feeling of invisibility in high school. She believed that college would be the space in which this would change, but was disheartened to learn she was mistaken.

For me, a lot of it was by the time I got to be a senior related to social isolation. I didn’t have a boyfriend the whole four years. I didn’t date and not for lack of interest. I felt that directly related to the social scene there and the lack of… I felt like we were all brothers and sisters in the Black community, so nobody really dated within the community it seemed. I felt very invisible to most of the men in the white community. I was looking for a hetero relationship and didn’t feel like I had a lot of options. On top of that, not even like “Oh I can pick and chose from these, I don’t like these choices…” But truly, “I feel invisible here.” And that was generally what a lot of my heartache about being at Dartmouth came from. Academically, I liked the school. I liked my friends. I didn’t mind the rural setting. All of those things were fine for me. It really was the social piece.  

When asked to recall a memory that she closely associates with her time at Dartmouth, Leah describes a moment she wishes was not the first to come to mind. In the midst of a community that had welcomed her in ways she had never experienced before, she still did not feel whole in this space.

A really vivid one that I wish this wasn’t the thing that sticks out the most to me…I remember walking home one night from frat row after going out to a party and feeling very lonely. Feeling like how come I feel so lonely when everybody here is so nice? I think that I was very happy at Dartmouth, but I think I had an underlying loneliness that as I’m now out in the real world, the full world, I realize even more that I was lonely. It doesn’t have to be that way. Also that sort of guilt of loneliness… I’m surrounded by nice people, there’s so much to do…why do I feel this way?

Leah is now an attorney living in Albany, New York. Her son has become the center of her universe. When she is not caring for him or working, Leah fulfills her role as the President of the Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association (BADA). She strives to give back to a community that made her feel at home. At Dartmouth, Leah believes she was able to grow into herself, fully embracing her Blackness and understanding that her Blackness was enough. Although aspects of her Dartmouth experience made her feel invisible, Leah believes that her confidence ultimately grew during her four years at the College on the hill.

I think it’s worth it. I think Dartmouth is worth it. To think about it now, leaving a bad marriage, starting my life over, excelling at my law firm in the way that I have…the strength to do all of those things comes from Dartmouth and my experiences there. The cost is high, but I think it’s worth it.