Hey! I'm Owen from Hollywood, Florida and I'm a '24. My favorite activities are listening to music, running, and reading the same books over and over again. I'm an Earth Science modified with Physics major and Biology minor who loves "The New Yorker," the outdoors, and reading. On campus, I'm involved with hydrological research, the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, Hillel, Greek Life, and—obviously—this blog!
Academic Program
Major in Earth Science modified with Physics & a Minor in Biology
A freshman-only introductory biology class taught by an amazing professor who's super invested and wants students to make friends and develop a love of cell biology.
A really cool introductory Earth Science course that taught the basics of geology, Earth history, and paleontology: all in one super accessible course.
This class taught us the basics of the R programming language in order to use it to analyze real-life hydrologic data. In class, we got to analyze datasets about rain, river discharge, flooding, and acid rain, using only the skills we gained from this course with no prerequisites.
This discussion-based geography class was my first interaction with the Geography Department, which other students have been raving to me about. The class, which is cross-listed with African-American Studies, analyzes how locations shape black embodiment and identity. Super cool stuff!
My first week back in Hanover came to a pretty epic end when my friends Ari, Meggie, and I decided to sign up for a 6-mile hike offered through the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC). After a summer spent as a camp counselor in upstate New York, I headed back to Hanover, newly invigorated by summer spent outdoors and—hoping—to continue my outdoorsy streak throughout the school year. So, after hearing about a free hiking trip offered through the Cabin and Trail sub-club of the DOC, we all decided to sign up: excited by the prospect of our early Sunday adventure.
Ari and Meggie absolutely crushing the hike up Mt. Ascutney!
This morning, Ari, Meggie, and I met up to pack 2 liters of water (each), a rain jacket, and snacks for an afternoon of hiking Mount Ascutney, located around 30 minutes away from campus in Vermont. Since we were going with the DOC, our fully funded trip included free transportation as well as the ever-exciting company of very cool and nature-savvy trip leaders. Making our way up the mountain, we joked and appreciated the views (as well as each other's company) before making a cute little trail lunch consisting of pitas, tortillas, hummus, peanut butter, fancy raspberry jam, goldfish, and some interesting chocolates.
The views at the top of the mountain were breathtaking, and we were impressed that—while more than 30 minutes away from campus—we could still see some of the familiar mountains that surround Hanover. At the summit, we climbed a little tower to get an even better view of the surroundings. Up at the top of the tower, my friends and I decided to have a little photoshoot to celebrate our matriculation—a Dartmouth tradition—which was happening for the Class of 2024 on the same day.
A fun matriculation themed photo we decided to take at the summit.
While we just got through our first week back at school, I'm already excited and surprised by the sheer quantity of things to do. At Dartmouth, the unique, rural surroundings offer students such a cool sense of place, with both unparalleled access to the outdoors as well as a feeling of belongingness within an extremely cute (and fairly metropolitan) small town. Getting to go outside and experience the amazing wilderness of the Upper Valley makes me feel incredibly lucky to have found a college with such an established connection to its location.
Dartmouth doesn't just care about the intellectual state of student minds but also their health and happiness. Through this week's monastic programming, I have found our commitment to mental health to be loud and clear.
As a high school senior, I chose to apply to colleges with a strong Chinese language department. Luckily, I have found Dartmouth's campus brimming with students passionate about Chinese culture and language.
