Mary Versa Clemens-Sewall

Mary Versa Clemens-Sewall is the face of RWIT (The Student Center for Research, Writing and Information Technology). I say that not just because if you write to the email account, Mary Versa will answer you, or, if you are recently hired by RWIT to act as a peer tutor, you will be contacted by her to be made to feel welcome and supported, or even if you put out an urgent plea for someone to take your shift in Baker 183 because you are sick and she is the first one to answer the call. No, Mary Versa is the face of RWIT because she exemplifies the best qualities of the Dartmouth community and everything, we hope our students become as people and citizens. That Mary Versa is math major but chose to work in a peer writing center demonstrates her range of intellect and commitment to helping her fellow students become better communicators. This commitment is not just to her peers, but in her Senior year, she became Head Tutor and guided RWIT through a new Interim Director (me) and a term of remote tutoring during the COVID-19 pandemic. She did all of this with good humor, technical expertise, and most noticeably a sense of true grace that has become her trademark.

I would add that Mary Versa is a true polymath. She is fluent in Arabic, discusses mathematical equations with a sense of profound joy, can edit a paper with the best, expresses her faith without hesitation, and, as I have come to know, is an accomplished cook and baker. These may seem like a just laundry list of things someone might know, but against the backdrop of her kindness, empathy, and sincere effort to do good in the world, they make for the kind of person we are proud to graduate from Dartmouth College.

Mary Versa, when we first met a year ago, you asked me what you should call me when we were in public. We settled on a few titles, but having known you through the year, I hope you call me, “your colleague and friend.”