Hey! I'm excited to welcome you to my blog page! I'm Andrea Agola, a '26 born in Kenya and raised just outside of D.C. As the eldest child of three, I'm the first to go off to college! I'm glad Dartmouth will enable me to explore both the sciences and humanities. Don't even get me started on the numerous extracurriculars that pique my interest, like the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact, research projects and dance groups. Follow along as I navigate this unique college experience!
Academic Program
Sociology major, International Studies Minor, Pre-Med
Favorite Thing Right Now
Studying abroad on the French LSA+ in Toulouse, France!
When I began my first term at Dartmouth, I knew I wanted to explore the French language and culture more after having been a French music and film fan for as long as I can remember. This was an accelerated course that covered French 1 and 2 in one term and offered an exciting and fast-paced atmosphere. The small nature of our class allowed us all to have more speaking time in class from partner activities to performing creative skits. One of the best assignments was a scavenger hunt! I was also able to learn and make a presentation about francophone countries. This class really prompted me to apply for the ‘24 Winter–Toulouse, France Study Abroad which I got accepted into!
This course considers the discipline and political happenings of Black Feminist Thought by highlighting interlocking issues related to gender, sexuality, race, and economics. The professor was amazing! I was always genuinely excited to do her assigned readings/viewings and remember being sad when she canceled class one day (imagine!). I reveled in the thought-provoking, warm, restorative (the list goes on & on) ambience that she fostered. I even took advantage of a cool opportunity that Dartmouth offers, the “Take a Faculty Member out To Lunch” program at Pine Restaurant across from campus. I enjoyed the lovely conversation we had over delicious food. Her class was such a great source of empowerment!
This course examines the epidemiology and social impact of past and present infectious disease epidemics. It was a great and insightful class to take for the Global Health Minor! I had the chance of hearing from many influential guest lecturers like the Former Minister of Health of Rwanda and a key member of the U.S Covid Task Force.
This course explores causes and patterns of global poverty and links this with the urgent need for care and care ethics in our lives and in society broadly. Not only did the class feel like such a caring environment but it was especially interesting because it had a Social Impact Practicum (SIP) component. A SIP is a project-based experiential learning opportunity connecting undergraduate courses at Dartmouth with community needs identified by nonprofit organizations. In other words, a SIP is a real-world project with real-world impact. My SIP was my care work as a UGA within Dartmouth's Residential Life.
The 2023 Karen E. Wetterhahn Science Symposium was held on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at the Hanover Inn. The evening dedicated to student research (featuring ~150 posters and ~200 undergraduate researchers) was opened with a keynote address: "Academic Performance Under Stress" by Sian Beilock, who will enter her role as President of Dartmouth this summer. As I awaited my own turn to present the research I had conducted over the last two terms, I enjoyed listening to the cognitive scientist. Her research focuses on the factors influencing performance anxiety and strategies that can be used to perform well under pressure, both in the classroom and beyond.
I loved getting to share what I've been researching!
Earlier in the day, I checked-in and received the clips I would need to hang up my large poster titled: "Toward Strong, smart orthopedic implants: Fracture analysis of UHMWPE composites." During the days leading up to this big event, I worked hard to put together some of the key moments and results of my 5 months of research as a WISP (Women in Science Project) intern in the DBEC (Dartmouth Biomedical Engineering Center for Orthopedics). Yes, imagine, 5 whole months of research synthesized onto a 36x48 inch board. By organizing my poster into sections, I was able to give a guided tour of the process it took for me to create my own novel MATLAB code program to analyze fracture surfaces of conductive polymers for artificial joints, to ultimately improve patient quality of life.
Jazz hands for science!
Finally, when it was time to present my work, I stood by my poster and awaited the stream of viewers and listeners that would flow in. Everyone, the whole Dartmouth/Hanover community was welcome and encouraged to come to the symposium. This meant that I would need to be prepared to modify my presentation based on the variations of the audience. This was an interesting skill that I really just figured out throughout the evening. At one point, a research librarian with knowledge about osteoarthritis and MATLAB came, other times professors and PhD students stopped by. What probably made me the happiest were the times when different sets of friends appeared to support me. I also enjoyed taking small breaks to walk around and support my fellow researchers. I got to learn about things like CRISPR gene editing, "nuclear import and chromatin incorporation of histone H3.3 in chaperone mutant Drosophila embryos" and "modulating impulsive decision-making in rats with brain stimulation."
Such eye-opening research!
It astonished me to see so many undergraduates doing complex and impressive research across several different fields. One of my friends who is also in the WISP program, was presenting about the research she has been doing in her Social Science lab. The feeling of pride in myself and empowerment from others was truly special. During this last week of finals, my poster has hung on the wall above my desk giving me extra motivation and reminding me that I can do anything I put my mind to!
Unlike some other universities, many of the STEM lecture classes at Dartmouth require concurrent enrollment in a laboratory section. What is it like navigating that time as a student?
