Hi, welcome to the blog! I'm a junior from a small suburb in South Carolina, just outside of Augusta, Georgia. On campus (and virtually), I'm involved in club water polo, the America Reads program, and the TAMID student consulting group. In the classroom, I'm super excited to pursue my interest in improving the world through public policy by studying the intersection of government and economics. I hope you enjoy following along as I explore all that Dartmouth has to offer!
Coming into Dartmouth, I knew I wanted to explore the creative writing department and this poetry workshop was a great way to do that! We studied well known political, love, and ekphrastic poems and wrote our own work every week. I really appreciated the small class size the classroom became a safe community for sharing my work, and I was able to get individualized critiques from Professor Francis.
Introductory writing classes are required for every Dartmouth student, but there are a wide range of topics, which makes finding an interesting course super interesting. My class focused on the American education system and gave me a ton of freedom to choose my paper topics.
Media and Politics was a writing intensive class which fulfilled my first year seminar requirement. While honing our writing skills, we studied the impact of news media, advertising, and messaging on campaigns and policy making. The class inspired me to continue exploring the government department, where I eventually declared my major.
In my college admissions process, I remember waiting until the last possible second to finalize my "Why Dartmouth" essay. I was enthusiastic about applying, but the super short word limit stressed me out. In the end, I wrote about joining and contributing to Dartmouth's legacy of reform through self-improvement. Now, as a freshman over halfway done with my first year, I thought I would take the opportunity to update my "Why Dartmouth" (this time without the stress of a 100-word limit).
As I originally wrote in my application, the atmosphere at Dartmouth is one that encourages constant self-evaluation and development. My grandfather attended Dartmouth in the 60s and, in his time, I wouldn't have even been considered for admissions because of my gender. Things certainly aren't perfect now, but the campus culture is one that empowers student activists. On campus, this activism is pervasive and addresses a wide range of issues from fossil fuel investments to gender-based violence on college campuses. Before coming to Dartmouth, I had never even thought about a few of these issues, but now I'm surrounded by students who spend hours fighting for justice in the community.
Example 1/89347791 of the great people I've met at Dartmouth!
The next thing that drew me to Dartmouth is not a thing at all, but rather a whole bunch of people! I was fortunate to visit campus twice before I committed and each time I connected with amazingly genuine and unique people. As a student, I continue to be amazed by the caliber of people I am surrounded by. My favorite thing about Dartmouth students is that everyone has a trait or talent or hobby that you would never expect. I have one friend who is a physics major and writes (beautiful) poems every day. Another is a super quiet humanities major who is awesome at water polo. I could go on and on, but you get the point – the people here are really freaking cool.
Example 2/89347791 of the great people I've met at Dartmouth!
Finally, I have two personality traits that align super well with the academic structure at Dartmouth: I customize literally everything possible and I thrive in immersion. Dartmouth's quarter system means that there are four 10-week terms throughout the year. Because of the short terms, we only take three classes at a time, so I find myself much more immersed in the material I'm learning. The D-Plan is a flexible, personalized path that each Dartmouth student can design themselves. Outside of a few set terms, the D-Plan allows students to choose when they want to be on-campus, studying abroad, or doing an internship.
At Dartmouth, there is an undergraduate requirement for language; after all, it is the liberal arts! Fulfilling this requirement looks different for various people and I will focus on my experience.
On Monday, April 8, 2024, a phenomenal total solar eclipse occurred — and we happened to be within the path of totality. As a result, Dartmouth hosted a variety of eclipse-related events on- and off-campus. Find out how I spent the eclipse!
Traditionally, Dartmouth students take three courses during a term, but I decided to take four courses this term! Learn about course load and the academic system at Dartmouth.
