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.
My college list wasn't a long one. I had made up my mind pretty clearly about where I wanted to go and why go there. Dartmouth, obviously, was my top choice. But, as I approach the half-way landmark of my time at college, I thought it was about time I reminded myself — and told you guys! — why this is the place I chose to call home.
As you might know, Dartmouth's "Why us?" prompt is a bit more than that. At least when I wrote my Common App, the question came along with this fascinating quote from Daniel Webster:
"It is, Sir, as I have said, a small college, and yet there are those who love it."
It can sound silly, and I know that, but since first answering this prompt, this quote has been engraved in my memory. It often hits me as I go about my daily chores: walking from class to the '53 Commons to the gym to my dorm; I do love this small college of ours, Mr. Webster!
The community I found here is nothing less than what I had expected. Our close-knit campus makes it easy for one to get familiar with every face. Even when I don't know people personally, it can feel reassuring to see someone you have seen before. To know that, no matter what space you are walking into, there probably will be someone you are at least acquainted with.
When thinking about the social dynamics of campus, this community building facet of Dartmouth proves to be even more important. I truly do not know what my first year of college would have been like had I not found such a supportive family among the Latine community. Being multicultural, I have learnt to find home among the most diverse of the groups, but it is with people of shared interests that I feel the most comfortable. At Dartmouth, I am never alone — whether it's in a Native American & Indigenous Studies class, in the Brazilian Society Sunday meetings, or in my fraternity. Community is a word that I relearnt at Dartmouth. College resignified what it means to belong, and I couldn't be more grateful for this newly discovered feeling.
Moreover, choosing Dartmouth wasn't hard once I got to hear about the incredible academic opportunities one can find on campus. As someone interested in language revitalisation, I was surprised to be exposed to research opportunities in this field as early as my freshman year. And, not only that, but being able to befriend my professors and feel like I am truly heard was yet another huge game changer!
In Solid Mechanics, we designed and constructed a bridge that held 10kN, around 1000kg! The process, from SOLIDWORKS design to laser cutting to gluing parts together, took us weeks, but it was one of the most rewarding projects I have ever done.
I applied through Questbridge's National College Match, but did not match. To others who also did not match, this is not the end of your application process! Here's what I did following match decision day.
Walking around the Wellelsey campus, it's clear that it was built with intentional incorporation of the surrounding nature. The architecture of many buildings were also mindfully crafted to support Wellesley's unique principles.
My first time in Chicago at the Society of Women Engineers Conference in Chicago, Illinois! Fully funded by Dartmouth, I had a great time meeting amazing companies and getting to know fellow women engineers.
