MINDY ON ALMA MATER MARQUEE
Mindy Kaling will be embarking on a homecoming of sorts. The Cambridge-grown star will be New Hampshire-bound later this spring to serve as commencement speaker at her alma mater, Dartmouth College.
“We’re excited to welcome back one of our very own @dartmouthalumni to deliver this year’s commencement address to the #Dartmouth18s. See you soon, @mindykaling!” the Ivy League school tweeted, to which Kaling replied with a bunch of waving emojis.
The comedic Renaissance woman, who graduated from Dartmouth in 2001, will be heading up to Hanover, N.H., to speak during this year’s commencement ceremony June 10, when she’ll also receive an honorary degree.
Apparently, it was during Kaling’s time on the college’s quaint campus that she laid the groundwork for her career in Hollywood. As an undergrad, she majored in theater and tried her hand at writing plays, including a one-act piece that won her the annual Eleanor Frost Playwriting contest in 1999. Kaling was also known during her college days as the author of “Badly Drawn Girl,” a comic strip poking fun at student life that was published in The Dartmouth, and as a contributing writer for the humor publication the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern. And to top off those artistic extracurriculars, she was also a member of the improv group Dog Day Players and the all-female a cappella ensemble the Rockapellas.
Now that she’s returning to the Big Green, Kaling will be unloading her wisdom as an actor, writer, producer, director and New York Times best-selling author on the graduating young minds and their families.
Her new NBC comedy, “Champions,” is a welcomed addition to our must-watch TV agendas and has filled the void left by “The Mindy Project,” which ended after a six-season run last year.
If you factor in her famous portrayal of Kelly Kapoor on “The Office” and her two hit books, “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)” and “Why Not Me?,” she’s coming back with quite the resume.