Hi! Welcome to the blog! I'm from a small suburb in South Carolina, just outside of Augusta, Georgia, so I'm excited to document my first New England winter! On campus, I'm involved in club water polo, the America Reads program, and research in a computational neuroscience lab. In the classroom, I'm super excited to find a balance between STEM and humanities by focusing on both English and pre-med classes. I hope you enjoy following along as I explore all that Dartmouth has to offer!
Academic Program
English with focus on creative writing (also on the pre-med track)
In high school, I played tennis and basketball, swam, and ran two half marathons, so I came to Dartmouth knowing I wanted to stay active and that I loved being a part of a team. During the first few weeks of my freshman fall term, I went to a few club tennis and club basketball meetings, but I eventually decided that I wanted to try something new. Ultimately, I ended up sticking with club water polo, a choice that has made my freshman fall super fun!
A few of my teammates and I after practice!
Most club sports here at Dartmouth are open to people with little or no experience, and water polo is the same way – I came in not even knowing the rules! Many of the other girls on the team are played in high school and are really talented, but I've felt welcome and supported the entire time. There's also a wide variety in the amount of time commitment required for club sports here. Personally, I use sports as a stress relief, so I like that water polo is a high-commitment club sport. However, I also have friends that love the sports they chose because they only practice a few times a week. The fall is the off-season women's water polo, so I'm really looking forward to travelling for tournaments in the Winter and Spring terms. Also, between Winter and Spring, we will have a week-long training trip, which I've heard is fun, exhausting, and great for team bonding!
We have practice and team dinner every Sunday night!
Walking on to a high commitment, completely new sports team might sound intimidating, but the people I've met through water polo have made the steep learning curve worth it. The upperclassmen organize team bonding activities constantly and I've bonded with the fellow newbies as we've learned together. At team dinners, our conversations often drift from that day's practice to study abroad experiences to advice on which classes to take, so I've loved having the chance to bond with upperclassmen I wouldn't otherwise know. I love water polo (and club sports in general) because they have become a way for me to stay active and make friends at the same time! Even if you weren't into sports in high school, Dartmouth is a great place to try something new and meet great people along the way!
I'm going to be completely honest: sometimes college is hard! I've compiled some resources that are great if students want to take some time to de-stress.
Even if I won't see my fellows NADs (our powerful Indigenous community), Questies (Questbridge ʻ23s represent!), and First-Generation Low-Income (FGLI) folks for a little while, you should all know that you make Dartmouth a wonderful place to be.
Because the town and school are small, they are extraordinarily interconnected and, in my experience, people in the community have been super welcoming. One long time Hanover resident even helped me pick out a good winter coat!
When I think of "old" at Dartmouth, I think of the many parts of campus that are rich in history. So this week, I went around to a couple of locations on campus to capture some of the historical parts of campus and their history.
I don't think any place exemplifies the stereotypical college town like Hanover and our dear old Dartmouth. Of the places at Dartmouth that have the best vibes, my vote — without question — goes to The Hop.
When I came to Hanover almost four years ago to start my freshman year, finding every place that serves coffee was of the utmost importance. Here's the rundown on the best places in town for coffee.
It's almost the end of my first winter here in Hanover, but that doesn't mean my friends and I didn't hop on the opportunity to go check out some ice castles an hour and a half north of us.
A few of my teammates and I after practice!
We have practice and team dinner every Sunday night!
