platform overlook with mountains

Matthew Goff

Class of 2018
it matt

About 

Hey guys! My name is Matthew. I am a Neuroscience major and an Anthropology of Global Health minor, as well as following the pre-med track. Here at Dartmouth I'm a member of the Triathlon Team, part of an all-male acapella group called the Dartmouth Brovertones, and a Senior Fellow in the Admissions Office where you may find me giving info sessions or tours. When I'm not doing any of those things, I love playing the cello, reading, and adventuring of any sort in the outdoors!

Academic Program 

Neuroscience

Favorite Thing Right Now 

Winter hiking

Hometown 

Hanover, NH

Pronouns 

He/His

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Matthew's D-Plan

What's a D-Plan?

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: PHIL 3 - Reason and Argument

      I loved the professor's dynamic personality. In the beginning of the class we learned how to construct and pick apart arguments, and then applied our skills to problems such as proving that Santa Claus exists!

    • WinterOn Campus

      Favorite Class: WRIT 5 - Human Rights

      This was a really cool look into the history of the UN and human rights in the US. At the end of the class, we interviewed residents of a local nursing home for a project on human rights issues faced by the elderly in the US!

    • SpringOn Campus

      Favorite Class: ENGL 7 - Narrating Slave Rebellion

      loved the in-depth look at a specific time period of history that focused on issues of gender, race, and power dynamics that have many relevant implications today!

    • SummerHome

      I spent this summer living helping my family move and lifeguarding at my local pool. After a busy first year, I was happy to have some time at home and opportunities to enjoy the beautiful New Hampshire wilderness!

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: PSYC 45 - Behavioral Neuroscience

      My favorite class sophomore fall was also one of the hardest classes I've taken at Dartmouth. It was PSYC 45 - Behavioral Neuroscience - and I loved the opportunity to delve deeply into the neural pathways of emotion, memory, and behavior.

    • WinterOn Campus

      Favorite Class: AMTJ 17 - Anthropology of Health and Illness

      I actually decided on my minor this term after taking probably my favorite class at Dartmouth! It was a class called "Anthropology of Health and Illness," and learning about health disparities and issues opened up the world of global health to me!

    • SpringToulouse, France

      Studying abroad on the LSA+ in Toulouse, France. Without a doubt, this was one of my favorite terms at Dartmouth. I absolutely loved my host family, my classmates, the city of Toulouse, the food, and most of all, hiking in the Pyrénées afterwards!

    • SummerOn Campus

      Sophomore summer was a great term to be on campus! From eating or studying on the sunny green with friends, to hiking, biking, and canoeing around the Upper Valley, sophomore summer was a great term for exploring inside and outside the classroom!

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class:  Geo 2 - Global Health and Society

      My favorite part of this class was the final project, where my group and I proposed solutions to the public health issue of dangerous drinking habits on college campuses

    • WinterGreensboro, Alabama

      I was doing an internship at a community health non-profit in rural Greensboro, Alabama. The Dartmouth Center for Service granted me a travel/housing stipend, and I had an absolutely amazing time learning about community/public health in the South!

    • SpringOn Campus

      Favorite Class: CHEM 151 - Physical Organic Chemistry

      Though it was also one of the hardest classes I've taken at Dartmouth, I really enjoyed Organic Chemistry. I found it fascinating to learn about the reactions that occur in the natural world all around us, especially the ones in biological systems!

    • SummerOn Campus

      I loved the independent research I was doing this summer for my neuroscience major. I was able to work with Professor Michael Casey, who uses fMRI data and machine learning to better understand how music interacts with the brain.

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: PSYC 21 - Perception

      I loved my Perception class taught by Peter Tse. He was super down to earth, and started each class by proposing an interesting thought question and asking us our opinions. Each lecture was a fun peak into what makes us see the world the way we do!

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An Instrumental Part of My Dartmouth Experience

Hey guys! Like I mentioned last week, I want to keep introducing myself through a series of posts, so I thought this week would be a good opportunity to give you all another picture into my life through the a capella lens. I am in a group called the Dartmouth Brovertones, which is one of Dartmouth’s three, all male a capella groups (there are nine groups all together). Now, I don’t know how much you all know about college a capella, but I suspect there are a number of misconceptions floating around, so I thought I would start off by telling you all a bit about what college a capella is NOT:

  1. No. 1

    College a capella is not Pitch Perfect.

    Boys singing
  2. No. 2

    Unlike Glee, not every member of the group is an earth-shattering soloist.

    boys singing hearltess

    While some members of our group are phenomenal soloists, I certainly didn’t get into a capella for the wonders of my solo voice. I only auditioned after a number of my freshman floormates convinced me to tag along with them to tryouts, and ended up in a group because it turns out I can decently sing a bass part after years of playing the cello. I still don’t consider myself an amazing singer, but if singing is something you’re remotely interested in, I would encourage you to step outside your comfort zone and give a capella a shot!

     
  3. No. 3

    Unlike the romanticized idea of a “riff-off,” our shows don’t come together perfectly polished and synchronized out of thin air.

    bros in trees

    Being in any performance group is a significant time commitment, and it takes a lot of hard work from every member of the group to arrange our own music, learn our parts, and get things up to performance speed (and even occasionally throw in some choreography). We rehearse three times a week, and often more during performance weeks. But in my opinion, the rewards are well worth it. Performing with the Bros is such a blast and being in the group has definitely been an instrumental (ha!) part of my Dartmouth experience.

     

Posted 01/17/2018 at 7:45 AMAll List Posts