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, Tia Walker '25 shares snapshots drawn from her D-Plan, organized by season.
FALL
First-year fall was a rocky and anxious transition into college life for me. Fortunately, I found community in the Afro-American Society and joined the organization's executive board as a First-Year Representative. I also balanced two part-time jobs as an assistant at Alumni Gymnasium and the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Junior fall brought even more opportunity for connection: I became a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, gaining an incredible sisterhood! That same term, I became a building ambassador at the Irving Institute for Energy and Society and served as social media chair for Dartmouth Caribbean Connection. My senior fall, I was hired as a Greek Life Intern and joined the National Pan-Hellenic Council's executive board. I was also beyond honored to be selected by Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences as a Leadership Fellow, a capstone program for juniors and seniors that culminated in a trip to Washington, D.C. during Winterim (the break in between fall and winter terms).
WINTER
To heat up and stay active during my first-year winter in Hanover, I played on the club badminton team at Alumni Gymnasium. My sophomore winter marked my first off-campus term. I attended Spelman College, a historically Black liberal arts women's college in Atlanta, Georgia, as an exchange student. My exchange term was a transformative experience that shaped my academic career and sense of self. At Spelman, I was immersed in a nurturing environment that celebrated Black womanhood and history, which allowed me to affirm my identity on a deeper level. I felt a significant connection to my cultural roots and expanded my appreciation for the cultural narratives that have shaped who I am today.
SPRING
While completing my semester at Spelman my sophomore spring, I joined the student-led nonprofit Next Great American Poet, attended open mics, and explored all that Atlanta had to offer. During junior spring, I started an Undergraduate Research Assistantship at Dartmouth with sociology professor Shaonta' Allen. With funding from URAD, I assisted Professor Allen with her incredible research on the misconceptions of Black Greek Letter Organizations and how they prepare students for academic success. Professor Allen also supported me at Brown University's W.E.B. DuBois: Crossing Boundaries for Social Justice Conference, where I was selected to present my research "Decolonization or Declaration of Affluence?" I was also chosen to present the same research at Stonehill College's World (Un)Making Conference. These conferences were great opportunities to meet like-minded peers and hone my critical thinking and presentation skills.
SUMMER
My summers as a Dartmouth student have always served as opportunities for academic enrichment and exploration. My first-year summer, I created promotional content as a graphic design intern at CityStep, an arts and social impact organization. My sophomore summer was spent on Dartmouth's Afro/Black Paris Foreign Study Program, which was founded and led by Professor Trica Keaton, an expert in Black French and European studies. The program was life-changing: in Paris, I learned about diverse perspectives on Blackness and global diasporas in my coursework. These new ideas challenged and expanded my views while also encouraging me to appreciate the nuances of my identity. During my junior summer, I offered advice on off-campus study to my peers as a study away mentor and worked remotely as a communications assistant for Dartmouth's Guarini Institute for International Education. I also interned with the Mayor's Office in the city of Framingham, Massachusetts, where I interviewed community members, wrote newsletters, and created social media content to engage with the community.
Illustration by Federica Bordoni
