Hello! I'm Cal Shin, and I am a '27 from Cary, North Carolina. I am hoping to double-major in Economics and Philosophy. Outside of academics and blogging, you'll find that I am involved The Dartmouth as a writer and designer, WebDCR as a radio show host, and Dartmouth QuestBridge Scholars Network (DQSN) as an executive board member. Ultimately, I am a storyteller, and I hope you enjoy these stories about my Dartmouth journey!
I took this course with Professor James Binkoski and loved it! I had never taken a philosophy course prior to Dartmouth, so this introductory course in the department was perfect! After all, it combined my interests of philosophy with time and time travel — at least, how time and time travel are depicted in the media. This course may initially seem to be on the more technical side, but Professor Binkoski made sure to break down the various time travel theories — various ways scientists and philosophers think of time and its supposed movement — in a manner that’s easy for anyone to understand. A very popular course overall; I am fortunate to have been able to take it during my first term here!
I took this course with Professor Ha Yan Lee and it was absolutely amazing! I had my initial reservations about this course, mainly because I knew a lot of my classmates would have had some background knowledge while I had none. Professor Lee did a wonderful job of breaking down concepts in a manner that, as she often put it, is easy for even “your grandparents to understand”. Even beyond the course, the level of care Professor Lee exhibited towards her students is significant. She’s one of the most popular professors at Dartmouth, and for good reason! I ate lunch with her at The Pine through the Take a Faculty Member to Lunch program, and she gave me tremendous insight and advice! Because of this course, I have been inspired to explore more courses within the Econ department and potentially major in Economics.
One of my favorite spots on campus is the Free Market, a thrift store run by the Office of Sustainability that is open to anyone on campus. The best part is that unlike other thrift stores, the items at the Free Market are completely free — no questions asked!
I've always been more of a t-shirt and pants kind of person — not particularly because I wanted to be, but because there were no other options. Therefore, I wanted to explore my sense of style at Dartmouth, and dress as I truly wanted to. The Free Market made that possible. It has an assortment of all sorts of clothing items. I was able to get tons of cute tops, skirts, and pants — all for free! I even got my Halloween costume from the Free Market. My sense of style is always slightly evolving, but I can say with confidence that I feel a lot more comfortable wearing clothing that I genuinely want to wear.
Just a peek at the assortment of items available on any given day.
The Free Market also made it possible to stock up on winter clothing with relative ease. Coming from a warmer place in the south, I quickly realized that I was not prepared for Hanover winter. Thankfully, the Free Market had a multitude of warm, high-quality winter jackets. I've always gotten cold easily, but here no longer!
At Dartmouth, there is an undergraduate requirement for language; after all, it is the liberal arts! Fulfilling this requirement looks different for various people and I will focus on my experience.
I have written about being a student worker plenty of times in the past, but I have yet to talk about one of my favorite jobs ever: ticket selling at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
On Monday, April 8, 2024, a phenomenal total solar eclipse occurred — and we happened to be within the path of totality. As a result, Dartmouth hosted a variety of eclipse-related events on- and off-campus. Find out how I spent the eclipse!
