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!
If you remember from my winter term preview, this term (and spring term!) I am doing research in the Dartmouth Biomedical Engineering Center for Orthopaedics as a WISP (Women in Science Project) intern! WISP is a great program that matches undergraduate women with faculty mentors in paid, part-time research internships in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. WISP internships provide early hands-on research experience in labs all across campus and at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. There is also access to mentoring from peers, research scientists and faculty members. After a period of contacting different professors/labs, participating in interviews, and ranking my preferred labs during fall term, I have been so grateful that I matched with Professor Doug Van Citters' lab focusing on joint (knee, hip, shoulder) implant research.
Over the last few weeks, I have already gained so much knowledge. I'm now more aware about biomaterials and biocompatibility in orthopaedic practice. I've done readings and experiments on things like wettability, mechanical properties, infection from biofilms, and an important compound with a long name that I can proudly say I've memorized now–ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). I've also been trained on machinery like the instron machine, scanning electron microscope, and Keyence imaging machine. While I was mostly working on imaging this last week, next week I will be frequenting the MShop–Dartmouth's machine and makerspace workshop–more.
A picture of a lab skeleton!
Just recently, I listened to a project presentation put on by researchers in the lab. Most are graduate students who get the chance to mentor us WISP interns in a project. After getting the chance to hear about a handful of the many interesting projects going on in the lab, I matched with one of the graduate student researchers for a project focusing on Carbon-UHMWPE Impact Testing and Fractography. Now that I have picked a project, my schedule is a bit more fixed as I come into the lab for 2 hours almost every weekday.
Going forward, I am working on streamlining my research focus and creating an experimental design. Because of the initial two-term nature of this internship, I will present a project progress report towards the end of this term and then I will present a poster on my work and findings at the Karen E. Wetterhahn Science Symposium in May of spring term. This symposium will be an amazing opportunity, as my PI (principal investigator) Doug Van Citters explained how an important audience including people like the vice president of a big biomaterial production company will be eagerly waiting to hear from a specialized key informant–aka me!
If you are interested in pursuing medicine after graduating from high school, as I was, you'll be looking at how different universities design their "pre-health" experience. What does that experience look like at Dartmouth College?
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Isabelle Sullivan '26, an environmental studies and geography major, showed me around her room, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
There was never a single "aha!" moment of clarity when I knew that Dartmouth was right for me, yet now, it is impossible for me to imagine having chosen anywhere else.
From a tight-knit study abroad cohort to intimate classroom moments and inspiring literary talks, French has grown far beyond a minor — becoming a thread that runs through the most meaningful parts of her Dartmouth life.
Amid the whirlwind of a ten-week term, the quietest moments — studying in the sun, cooking with a friend, running through Pine Park — turn out to be the ones worth savoring most.
