Whitman Connections Continue To Inspire Alum’s Career, Service & Generosity

When he arrived for his first semester at Whitman College, Noah Henry-Darwish ’12 was burnt out from high school and uncertain about his future. Then the unthinkable happened. On his first day of classes, his mother passed away after a long illness. Henry-Darwish took on more family responsibility, commuting often between campus and his home in Eugene, Oregon.

During those difficult months, he felt disconnected and considered leaving Whitman. 

“I came back from winter break, and I told myself I needed to try getting involved in one thing and see how it goes,” he says. “If it went well, I would stay.”

He decided to lean into singing. He was already a member of the Whitman Chorale and Chamber Singers and signed up for a trip to Finland and Estonia with the Chamber Singers that spring. Traveling together through long, intense days brought the group closer, making it easier for Henry-Darwish to open up and find peers with shared life experiences.

Singing with his fellow Whitties became a cornerstone of his Whitman experience.

Through Chorale and Chamber Singers, he connected with people from all different majors and class years, Henry-Darwish says. “It brought a strange, funny group of people together who all happened to really like to sing.”

Finally, he felt plugged in, and Whitman became a home away from home, a place to thrive. From classroom discussions to student clubs to on-campus work opportunities, his connection to the college and community just continued to grow. 

Today, Henry-Darwish is a strong voice at another institution of higher education. As Assistant Dean of Students at Stanford University, he helps students navigate tough or distressing times in their college journeys.  

But Whitman is never far from mind. His own college experience and early work on campus continue to influence his work at Stanford and inspire him to give back to his alma mater in impactful ways.

Making Memories & a Difference

In his sophomore year at Whitman, Henry-Darwish applied to be a Student Academic Advisor in the residence halls. That led to becoming a Resident Assistant in La Maison, the French interest house. In his role, he planned events and activities, which connected him with the Associated Students of Whitman College (ASWC) and the Whitman Events Board (WEB).

In his senior year, he became the WEB Chair. He loved working with a team to influence campus culture and figure out what would make students’ lives at Whitman more interesting and fun.

Looking back, he thinks fondly of small events, like arts and crafts nights, that reached niche campus communities.

“A lot of times, the goal is, ‘Let’s get as many students as we can in the room and having fun.’ But I found it sometimes was even more meaningful to appeal to a group of students that might feel like there’s nothing there for them,” he says. “We found something that was there for them.”

Henry-Darwish built academic connections as well. He started college with pre-med in mind, but he didn’t particularly enjoy his science classes. His family encouraged him to pursue other areas, and Whitman felt designed for exploration.

Ultimately, it was Psychology that drew him in, especially learning about applied counseling—practical, real-world solutions and interventions. For his senior thesis, he collaborated with fellow Psychology major Courtney Sanford ’12 to study how an awareness of implicit bias can motivate behavior change. Working on a group thesis taught him to collaborate closely and be accountable to another person. 

It was an “intense and powerful experience” to wrap up his bachelor’s degree, he says, and he and Sanford both graduated with honors.

Helping With Heart & Head

After graduation, Henry-Darwish stayed on at Whitman, spending two years as the Resident Director of the Interest House Community at Whitman. The position gave him a taste of student affairs as a field, showing him how he could combine his love of student activities and his interest in psychological well-being to create a long-term career.

He went on to earn a Master of Education in Student Affairs from the University of Maryland, which combined higher education studies with counseling coursework.

He gained on-the-ground knowledge through an internship in student case management at American University and another at the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), which led to eight years working part-time as an Editor for CAS.

“The experience with CAS gave me the opportunity to think on a more global level about how we set standards for what we want to see in higher education and in student affairs, what happens outside the classroom,” he says.

In 2016, after completing his master’s degree, he returned to the West Coast and student-facing work. He spent five years at the University of California, Berkeley, as they built their case management office before joining Stanford, where he works directly with students in distress and provides leadership in his department.

He’s not done being a student either. He’s currently pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education through the University of Nebraska and studying how administrators respond to high-risk student behavioral concerns.

Many Ways To Give

Throughout his career, Henry-Darwish has continued to nurture his Whitman connections. He helped plan his 10th Reunion and returned to campus to give a career talk for Student Life staff. He’s also met current students as a volunteer at Whitties Helping Whitties events in the Bay Area.

“I’ve always been sort of an extrovert, so I’m happy to go and have some awkward small talk with people who are trying to figure out how to get better at it,” he says with a laugh.

He also volunteers for Whitman Annual Giving, which he was introduced to as a member of his Senior Fund Committee. He’s found that it’s a great way to maintain connections with peers and friends as their college years grow more distant.

He acknowledges that alumni of his generation started college during a recession and haven’t had the same opportunities that once existed for people right after college. For that reason, he encourages young alumni, in a tough economy, to consider the many ways they can give back and stay engaged.

“If you’re able to reach out to a professor who had an impact on you, reach out. If you’re able to volunteer or attend an alumni networking event, to give your time, that’s really valuable,” he says. “It’s always been important to me to emphasize to people that you don’t just have to give money.”

And when you do give financially, you can give in ways that matter to you. For Henry-Darwish, it’s in support of programs that directly help students, such as scholarships and the Dean of Students’ Emergency Fund.

“I understand how valuable these emergency funds are, because it’s something that I tap into [for students] in my job all the time,” he says.

He’s also guided not only by his own experiences, but also by the bigger picture. He references a Greek proverb: A society grows great when its elders plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.

“Education is really important to me, and I continue to see how important it is for students,” he says. “Their education is their opportunity to give to the world in some way. When I give, I think of the potential that exists within all students.”