Hi! I'm excited to welcome you to my blog! 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! Dartmouth enables me to explore my passions in both the sciences and humanities. Don't even get me started on the numerous extracurriculars that pique my interest, like the Dartmouth Dickey Center, research projects (WISP & DHMC), and dance groups (Soyeya). Follow along as I navigate my unique college experience!
Academic Program
Sociology major, International Studies Minor, Pre-Health
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.
I completed a project mapping disparities in hospital access on Chicago’s West Side. I analyzed the spatial relationship between hospital closures and the surrounding Black population, creating 0.5-mile buffer zones around six hospitals. My findings revealed that the closed hospital was surrounded by a high percentage of Black residents and was more isolated from open hospitals, indicating disproportionate healthcare inaccessibility. In contrast, areas with lower Black populations had overlapping buffers of open hospitals, reflecting easier access. This project deepened my understanding of spatial justice and the real-world impact of GIS in equity analysis.
This summer, I had the joy of learning West African percussion in a class that quickly became a highlight of my week. From my first introduction to the djembe and makuta drums to the group performances that brought us all together, each session was filled with rhythm, laughter, and community. Despite personal challenges, I always left class feeling recharged, thanks to Professor Shabazz’s infectious energy, inspiring stories, and deep cultural wisdom. Sitting in a semicircle, making music, and sharing heritage presentations helped us connect in meaningful ways—and reminded me how powerful it is to learn and grow through music.
During my semester exchange at Wellesley College, my favorite class was Organic Chemistry I. After finding CHEM 005 and 006 challenging and hearing numerous warnings about the complexity of organic chemistry, I was initially skeptical. But to my surprise, I really enjoyed the course. I found the reaction-based approach more intuitive and engaging than previous chemistry classes, and I appreciated how each mechanism told a story about molecular behavior. The class challenged me, but in a way that felt motivating rather than overwhelming. It reshaped my perspective on chemistry and boosted my confidence in tackling complex scientific concepts.
WinterNairobi, Kenya
Interning at the Strathmore Institute of Healthcare Management through the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding.
In this seminar-style class, we spent ten weeks reading and discussing powerful contemporary works written in French by authors such as Shane Haddad, Nina Bouraoui, Kamel Daoud, Djaïli Amadou Amal, Gaël Faye, and Riad Sattouf. The seminar’s intimate format fostered rich conversations about identity, memory, biculturalism, gender, and displacement across the Francophone world. What made the course especially unique was our final creative project, which we crafted in Dartmouth’s Book Arts Workshop, allowing us to merge literary analysis with hands-on artistry. This class deepened my appreciation for Francophone literature and challenged me to think critically and creatively.
Folding Memories: Creating a Final Project in the Book Arts Workshop
Tucked away in the cozy basement of Baker-Berry Library lies one of Dartmouth's most creative hidden gems: the Book Arts Workshop. I'd walked by the signs before without knowing what treasures were down there. But thanks to my final project for FREN 70: Francophone Literature, I finally had the opportunity to pop in—and the experience transformed the way I think about creative writing, language, and the physicality of books.
For our final, we were encouraged to experiment with form in our own creative writing and interpretations of the course material. I decided to create an accordion-style book of fictive audio message transcripts sent to my Shosho (grandma) via WhatsApp, as we communicate most frequently through this app while she's in Kenya and I'm in the US. The project took the form of a deeply personal and imagined conversation that explored diasporic voice, memory, and intimacy in the digital age. I mostly wrote in French and included lines in Swahili, as this is the language I mostly speak to my grandma in. But bringing this concept to life required more than just writing—it meant learning an entirely new set of hands-on skills and spending five immersive days in the Book Arts Workshop.
The cover of my book…open the app to "listen" to the audio!
The process began with InDesign, a tool I hadn't touched before but quickly came to appreciate. Thankfully, Dartmouth students have access to the full Adobe Creative Cloud suite, and I used InDesign to format my writing into precise dimensions that would suit the accordion fold. This part alone taught me so much about how layout can shape the reading experience—where a line breaks, how a margin breathes, and how rhythm is visual as much as verbal.
Once the digital layout was complete, I printed it, and the real magic began. I assembled my book by cutting and folding it into a long, continuous strip that opened up like an accordion. I wanted to simulate the feel of listening to a stream of audio messages, so I created stamps of audio waveforms, play buttons, and sound icons to decorate the pages by carving the desired shapes into blocks of rubber and dipping them in ink. These visual cues, like subtle sound marks, enhanced the digital illusion within the tactile world of the printed page.
A peek at part of my accordion-style book!
Earlier in the term, we had two in-class training sessions at the Book Arts Workshop, which laid the foundation for this final project. In the bindery room, we learned how to assemble various book formats, from simple pamphlets to sewn bindings. In the letterpress studio, we experimented with setting metal and wood type on vintage presses—an incredible opportunity to work with century-old tools and reflect on the long history of publishing and communication.
This was my first time working in the Book Arts Workshop during my time at Dartmouth, and it opened up a whole new creative world. The staff were so supportive and knowledgeable, and the atmosphere encouraged exploration and play. One day, I was working on my project, and I even bumped into a friend who was simply there to make something creative during her study break! I came away from the project with more than just a final product—I gained an appreciation for the artistry involved in bookmaking and the possibilities of merging traditional craft with contemporary storytelling. I'm grateful that this course pushed me to explore the Book Arts Workshop, and I know it won't be my last time there.
