Ei! My name is Antônio Jorge Medeiros Batista Silva (yes—four last names!) and I'm a '25 from Governador Valadares, Brazil. My journey to Dartmouth has crossed two continents, three countries, and over 10 schools—and I'm a strong believer that everyone's path to the Big Green was unique in a way. At Dartmouth, I study Linguistics, Native American & Indigenous Studies, and Spanish. I am passionate about social justice, language-learning, and the oxford comma!
This class is an introduction to the Spanish minor and major courses and, although I did not expect to particularly like it, it not only turned out to be my favourite but it made me start considering a degree in the department!
In this class, we analysed different productions of Latinx American theatre. Prof. Analola Santana was probably the best person I met this year at Dartmouth. Being her student was a very important experience as I try to navigate my potential majors and minors.
In this class, I was able to carve time out of my busy Dartmouth schedule to study and learn my Indigenous language: Krenak. With the help of Prof. Gokke, all students were encouraged to develop a final project that spoke to their community's needs for language learning and revitalisation. It was an extremely important class for me, not only academically, but also for my personal healing process.
I had the honour of spending my sophomore fall in Madrid, taking part in the Spanish FSP. There, Prof. Martín was not only a great professor, responsible for my favourite lecture of the program, but also an incredible company throughout our classes and in-country trips. Great way to wrap up my Spanish minor, honestly!
This was my second class in the NAIS department, and thus it took me one step closer to wrapping up my major. Nonetheless, it was Prof. Powell's genuine charisma and caring personality that made it my favourite of the term!
This course was definitely life changing! Prof. Pochedley, a visiting post-doc of the Potawatomi nation did a great job at keeping the students engaged while teaching us to see the land we inhabit as a source of knowledge and spirituality. In a majority Indigenous classroom, we got to develop individual projects related to our traditional homelands, learning to navigate the world through Native world lenses.
Prof. Gómez is one of those profs I've always wanted to take a class with. His work with the Horror genre in Modern Spanish literatures amazes me, and it was an honour to guide in-class discussions and develop my own research on the themes of science, testimony, and fear.
LING54 is an umbrella course: the actual content of the course may vary each year, but it is the common letter-number code to refer to the course taught abroad by your accompanying Dartmouth Linguistics professor. In this year's Linguistics Foreign Study Program (FSP), LING54 was a 'Language Documentation' class, wonderfully taught by Prof. David Peterson.
Before this class, I had no idea what visual and cultural studies actually encompassed. Every chat with Prof. Broner opened my eyes to a different analysis or method for interpreting literature, and for that, I feel truly lucky! We got to discuss films made by Indigenous women from all over Latin America, exposing the class to distinct ways of interacting with and stewarding the environment.
At Dartmouth, being a student-worker isn't that unusual of a thing. I have many friends who are baristas at Novack (our Starbucks-serving café on campus), paid research assistants, or even fellows at the Admissions Office. Aside from writing for People Places Pines, I'm also an International Student Ambassador and a research assistant at the Linguistics department. But, recently I started a new job. Something I never thought I'd want to do, but that has been the best part of my weeks. Something that, although a job, feels almost like therapy. That is: nude modeling.
A drawing of me!
And a painting!
Since coming back to campus this Winter term, I've been somewhat worried about my finances. I had just been abroad for almost six months, meaning I hadn't worked or saved money. It came as a pleasant surprise when a friend suggested that I check out Dartjobs, the online platform where all campus positions are listed. There, I found the opportunity to help out Studio Arts students better their anatomy skills while still getting paid. It sounded amazing!
And indeed it is! Although some of my friends were weirded out by the idea of this job, I decided to still give it a try. Basically, all I have to do is hold 10-30 minutes long poses throughout a class period. Besides leaving me a great amount of time to take a break from studying, this job also provides me with a space to reflect. It's not every day someone is willing to pay you for standing still.
Honestly, you know what's even cooler? That I get to see myself through other people's eyes. Some pieces made of me were so pretty, I had to take pictures. One of the Arts students saw how amazed I was, he even let me keep this final painting project!
Although atypical, I have really enjoyed being a nude model. It gave me more confidence in my own body, as well as let me use some of my free time to help others. There are many ways of working on campus, and you truly get to choose what you find best for yourself!
Learn about the different programs Dartmouth offers prospective students to explore campus life, learn about Dartmouth, and enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Hanover!
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
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?
