Dartmouth has a distinctive year-round quarter system—the D-Plan—that enables students to customize their individual academic calendars across four years. Dartmouth offers four, 10-week academic terms per year that loosely align with the four seasons. Within some guidelines, students choose how—and where—they'll spend each of those terms, whether taking classes in Hanover, studying away on an off-campus program, or embarking on a "leave term" to pursue an internship, research, creative pursuit, or time off. Here, Simon Lamontagne '24 shares snapshots drawn from his D-Plan, organized by season.
FALL
My first-year fall started in September 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. My dad and I drove 35 hours from my childhood home in Colorado to Hanover. The day before I arrived on campus, we climbed Mt. Washington together, already taking advantage of all the beautiful opportunities the New Hampshire outdoors have to offer. I moved into a residence hall on the Dartmouth campus, and despite having to be distanced from my peers, I found lots of creative ways to begin bonding with them, from walks in the woods to late-night study Zooms with classmates.
My first Dartmouth term with in-person classes was my sophomore fall, and in many ways it felt like having a second first year–there was so much to learn about "normal" Dartmouth! This was when I started giving campus tours for the Office of Admissions, and I had a lot of fun in LING 35: Field Methods with Professor Jim Stanford. In that seven-person class, we did
intensive research and fieldwork on the Georgian language and bonded a lot in the process.
WINTER
One of my favorite Dartmouth memories is ice skating with friends on Occom Pond my sophomore winter, along with a photography project I completed that same term for ENGL 63.04: Arts Against Empire highlighting trans and non-binary Dartmouth students. At the same time, I joined the Dartmouth College Marching Band as a cymbalist on a whim even though I hadn't played a musical instrument since the sixth grade, and it's become one of my favorite activities on campus.
By contrast, I spent my junior winter on the Linguistics Foreign Study Program in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Cook Islands, where we took classes at the University of Auckland on Māori language and culture and did research on Cook Islands Māori as a part of Dr. Ake Nicholas' and Professor Rolando Coto Solano's language revitalization work. From unique classroom opportunities to bonding with my peers on Maungawhau (Mt. Eden) at sunset to snorkeling with turtles on the Rarotonga reef, this was a truly transformative program, and I will cherish it forever.
SPRING
My Dartmouth springs have always given me great opportunities to get outside and enjoy the warming weather, from hiking with friends on the Appalachian Trail to eating lunch on the Green. My sophomore spring, as I explored artifacts and completed labs in ANTH 50.50: Archaeology of Food, I joined a gender-inclusive Greek house on campus. Even though I originally came to college thinking I'd never be the type of person to join a Greek house, it's provided me with endless opportunities for growth, friendship, and getting out of my comfort zone in leadership positions.
I decided to take ANTH 50.17: Rites of Passage during my junior spring with Professor Sienna Craig and Dr. Manish Mishra. The course featured a vast number of experiential learning opportunities: we attended weekly yoga nidra sessions and were paired with an older Community Partner to further discuss class topics. I really appreciated the opportunity to reflect on my personal experiences at a time that happened to be truly pivotal for me.
SUMMER
My sophomore summer was a time for academic exploration in areas I usually might not venture to. I took FILM 44.01: Handmade Cinema and FILM 47.20: Curating and Microcinema, which both took place in an animation studio. I learned about cameraless film techniques, and the class took a weekend trip to New York City to see different museums and film exhibits. Both classes had culminating film projects that screened at open-to-campus events.
My junior summer was what some Dartmouth students call a "Hanover off-term." I wasn't enrolled in classes, but I lived in Hanover, working full-time as a Senior Fellow in the Office of Admissions (where I'm writing this sentence right now)! Among other projects, I presented pre-tour information sessions to visitors and helped prepare for fly-in programs, and outside of work, I was able to connect with friends who were taking summer classes. It's just one of the many opportunities that—thanks to the D-Plan—has become so influential to my Dartmouth experience.
Illustration by Federica Bordoni
