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.
This past weekend was Winter Carnival, a major Dartmouth tradition. Coincidentally enough, Lunar New Year also fell in the same weekend! I'm sure my fellow bloggers will cover the different events that occurred during this (unusually warm) Winter Carnival, so I'll shift gears into Lunar New Year instead.
To be honest, I don't know what I expected for Lunar New Year here at Dartmouth—right during Winter Carnival weekend. Still, there were plenty of events hosted by various organizations around campus! The Dartmouth Chinese Culture Association (DCCA) and the Office of Pluralism and Leadership (OPAL) partnered to host a Lunar New Year banquet, People of Color Outdoors (POCO, a DOC subclub) hosted a special hotpot event, and the Hood Museum had a special pop-up exhibition and drop-in activity! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend those events, but I decided to take a break from my schoolwork and take some time to celebrate both Lunar New Year and Winter Carnival. After helping sell some gorgeous Winter Carnival merchandise, I went to a dinner hosted by some people in the Korean Students Association (KSA). The dinner surpassed all of my expectations. The tteokguk (rice cake soup) tasted delightful, and I particularly enjoyed the kimchi. (Kimchi! Here in Hanover! I never would've expected this.)
By the end of the night, I felt fulfilled. I was pleasantly surprised by the repertoire of Lunar New Year events on campus, and I have high expectations for next year, that's for sure!
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!
