Welcome to my page, I am a '27 from central New Hampshire! I came to Dartmouth for the liberal arts curriculum, so I plan to explore the academic disciplines before deciding what to focus on. I am currently looking at environmental science and religion. In addition to blogging, I am part of the Interfaith LLC (Living Learning Community) and Great Issues Scholars. I enjoy mountain biking, running, skiing, singing, and drawing.
Academic Program
Intended: pre-health, environmental science or biology, and religion.
This discussion and reading-based class was incredible and relevant! Content ranged from the historical impact of the printing press to AI in the workforce and transhumanism, and all of the topics were grounded in religion and some of the frameworks religion provides. I pondered on ideas from this class all the time.
I was captivated by the first class meeting of the term reading Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' and eventually chose to focus on it for my research paper at the end of the term. All of the readings captivated my attention, however, Kafka, Han's 'The Vegetarian', and Kristeva were the authors that made the biggest impression on me. The class discussions resulted in wonderful insights relevant to humanity at a macro level. My favorite aspect was our professor instructing us to focus on the ideas before picking apart the writing style.
LLCs or, Living Learning Communities, are residential spaces and communities centered around a specific interest or identity. They are one of many spaces students can choose to live during their four years on campus. I'm part of the Interfaith and Great Issues Scholars (GIC) communities and this post dives into how my residential Interfaith LLC has evolved!
If you did not see my LLC post from the fall term, I recommend it as an introduction to our community on the fourth-floor of the Rauner dorm. Our group has continued to grow as a cohesive social unit and our 'adopted' members, friends who do not live on our floor, have gradually started spending even more time with us!
Frequently I find myself in conversations in the common room or going to a meal with friends from the floor. There have also been quite a few birthdays over the winter term, and we have been getting together with cake and other sweets at night to celebrate the birthdays. We went to the snowball fight on the Dartmouth Green as a group, and it was a blast, even though the snow was powder and terrible for snowballs.
We also decided to do an ice sculpture for Winter Carnival (read more about Winter Carnival here), which was a blast, and my woodworking and linoleum block carving experience was helpful for the craftsmanship. There were professional carvers who gave advice and carved some details. As you can see from our photo, the sun coming in from the left side had a huge impact on the sculpture. I am also adding photos I took of some of my other favorite sculptures.
Minion in front of Collis
Astronaut Ice Sculpture in front of McNutt
Lizard Ice Sculpture
Snoopy Ice Sculpture
Dartmouth College Marching Band Sculpture
Class Debate: CHEM 5 vs. PUBPOL 5
Chemistry 5 and Public Policy 5 are some of the most common courses for students in the fourth-floor community during the winter term (other than Writing 5 and first-year seminar). Over winterim (winter break) we were having a debate in our group chat trying to determine which course would be the best. Pubpol 5 has a lot of reading, whereas Chem 5 has lectures, problems, and labs, so each course has its respective challenges. Based on my observations, I would say that the two courses are about on par with each other in terms of rigor. Chem 5 is a fairly common prerequisite course (part of the general chemistry sequence, which is either 5-6 or 11(accelerated) and Pubpol 5 is important for governmental studies but also for people who are looking at the Rockefeller First-Year Fellows program in D.C. which happens in the summer after the first year.
A little chemical reaction in the lab...
Iron Reaction Before
Iron Reaction After
Overall, I'm really enjoying my winter term classes!
Lastly, our Interfaith community was fortunate enough to go on a Dartmouth-sponsored trip to Washington DC over springterim (spring break)! Read more about that trip here!
This term, I decided to build on my already-existing interest in photography and take Photo I: The Intentional Photography. Here's a selection of my works!
Being a super senior ('23) is like being an incoming freshman ('28) in that you get to make a new set of friends. Luckily, Dartmouth is a small school with many social spaces students can tap into.
With the beginning of Week 5 of spring term already upon us comes an outline of my schedule for the term. From trying new activities to settling into courses and club positions, this is what I've been up to during my most beloved term!
What kind of classes do you take in a subject-based Foreign Study Program? Here's a rundown of my classes in the Music FSP in London to give you an idea of what academic life is like in the program!
