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.
I know that, at least for me, the idea of Dartmouth requiring me to take Physical Education classes sounded very scary. I am not an outdoorsy person at all, and neither do I know what to do with all those scary gym tools. Normally, all students would be asked to complete at least three PE credits, but—due to Covid—some of these have been waived. The class graduating in 2024 is only required to take one, and us (the '25s) have to take two.
Luckily, Dartmouth is very flexible in how they enforce this requirement. You do not necessarily have to go all the way to the skiway, nor you have to spend hours in the gym. One of my credits, for example, comes from my time as part of the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble (DDE). The other one, which inspired me to write this post, comes from a Vinyasa Yoga class I am taking this term! Isn't that incredible?
I was honestly concerned my schedule would be too packed this term: I was taking three courses, working three jobs, doing research, and still had to deal with all the social aspects of my life. I was scared yoga would end up becoming another weight for me to carry, but it actually turned out to be the opposite. The Tuesday and Thursday evenings I spend in the studio have become the highlight of my week. I had no experience with yoga, but that wasn't a problem. The instructor is super patient and kind, as well as understanding of the students' difficulties.
And you know what's even cooler? I get to do all of this with my best friends. Both my boyfriend, Luka, and my best friend, Julie, are in this class as well. And, funny enough, considering our major plans are so different from each other's, we had always joked about how we'd never take a class together. It's lovely to be able to share this space with them now!
Through Dartmouth's Guarini Institute for International Study, I am getting to take classes and experience life at Wellesley College, an all-women's school!
Academics can be challenging at Dartmouth. But there are lots of groups across campus here to support you through your academic journey. Read on for my experience asking for help and a few organizations that might be helpful to you!
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
