Hey y'all! I'm Caroline York, and I'm a '25 from Georgia! My hope is to share my Dartmouth experience with potential '28s, '29s, '30s and beyond! On campus, I write sports for The Dartmouth, am a Center for Social Impact SIBS mentor, am in Christian life, a Tour Guide, a Dartmouth Emergency Medical Services (EMS) member, and am a Hood Museum Intern! Otherwise, you'll find me in the Connecticut River, studying in the Tower Room, and running along the Appalachian Trail. Welcome to my world!
I initially took this class because I wanted to know more about Dartmouth’s history with Native Americans. It ended up being my favorite class because Professor Duthu was so enthusiastic about Native American affairs. He related the lectures to his own experiences growing up on a reservation, which made the class come to life.
As a potential Classics major on the pre-health track, this class was perfect for me! We learned about different medical practices from Rome and Greece and how medicine had changed in the past 2,000 years. We had a class in the Geisel School of Medicine and got to hold human organs!
I took this class because I wanted to learn more about the economy. Econ 2 focuses on the current economic climate in the US, so we would follow the DOW Jones on a daily basis to establish trends. In an economy impacted by a pandemic, inflation, and a war, this class was so helpful in my understanding of the financial climate of the country.
Physics with Professor Blencowe was delightful. His enthusiasm for the subject matter created excitement for students. The labs were hands-on and interactive to learn about the mechanics of the world.
This class fulfilled the Interdisciplinary Approach to my Global Health minor, and I enjoyed every minute of it. With Professor McCabe, we discussed gender and how its structure impacts our daily lives. My final research project studied gender within "Grey's Anatomy," which was created by Shonda Rhimes '91.
I used my "off-term" to travel to Hanoi, Vietnam for a Dartmouth Dickey Center Global Health Internship. I worked for the Institute of Population, Health, and Development, and studied health disparities in Vietnam.
This class was taught by a visiting professor, and she did an excellent job of engaging the class and making the material exciting. We learned about the historical Jesus figure in a Jewish context, and we connected the class content to modern day movies about Jesus.
I did a transfer term at Trinity College, Dublin, which means I took three courses at Trinity. My favorite was "Roman Archaeology" because I had never taken an archaeology course yet for my Classical Studies major.
My neighbor, Dr. Daniel Huddleston, is a Dartmouth '00 who is now a neurologist and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Emory University after attending Columbia University for both medical school and his residency. During his time at Dartmouth, he received a BA in Biology and German Literature.
What initially drew you to Dartmouth?
I was looking at just a variety of different colleges. I was from Knoxville, Tennessee, and I wanted to do something that was far afield from my life up until that point. Dartmouth was far away and in a cold place with snow. When I went to Dartmouth, you could tell that it just had a special energy to it. People were excited to be there, and people were very serious. They had big ambitions, but they were also enjoying themselves and developing friendships. I think it was that well-rounded, well-balanced aspect that I liked the most.
What was your favorite pre-health class at Dartmouth?
I could probably say a few, but I will just go with Dr. Samuel Valez, who had a neurobiology course. We did some labs recording crayfish action potentials. That's what he had done his Ph.D. in. He was just a great teacher and lecturer. I also really liked the immunology course. That was cool. I still remember some of the things that we talked about.
What did you do in your free time?
In my free time, it depended on the season. I enjoyed doing some mountain biking when it was warm enough and certainly skiing in the wintertime. I spent time at my fraternity as well. That was a place where I had joined and found a lot of friends. I'm not going to lie, I spent a lot of time in the library trying to get to the next stage too.
How did you choose Columbia Med School?
I was looking for a place that was strong for neuroscience. That was something that I had already figured out as I wanted to do something oriented towards neuroscience. It was just clear that Columbia had a lot to offer for my kind of area of interest. The people were excited to be there, and I liked that.
How has Dartmouth had an influence on your medical career?
I encounter people often who are Dartmouth graduates, who are pursuing related areas. We're always excited to find out that we both went to Dartmouth. Right now there's a person who I collaborate with who is at Harvard studying a substrate of Parkinson's disease. I connected with him purely scientifically, and we figured out that we were both Dartmouth grads and that was a cool moment. It adds a little something to your network and your relationships going forward forever.
After returning from an enriching study abroad program, I'm diving into a bustling spring semester here at Dartmouth. Here are my four courses I'm taking this term!
Dartmouth's liberal arts curriculum pushes students to explore new departments and draw connections between seemingly disparate disciplines. Come explore my Economics, Physics, and Asian, Societies, Cultures, and Languages classes!
