Antônio Jorge Medeiros Batista Silva

The Places You'll Go

When I applied to Dartmouth back in 2021, I had no idea that I would end up spending about a quarter of my college time away from campus. As many of you—readers of People Places Pines and potential applicants—I love Dartmouth for its unique sense of place. Being on campus, you are surrounded by a natural landscape that most college students elsewhere have to travel hours to see. The College's location was most definitely one of the aspects that brought me to apply here Early Decision. But, as much as I wanted to fully immerse myself in the Upper Valley's picturesque environment, I couldn't let the many opportunities to go abroad that Dartmouth offers its students pass by. I needed to find balance, a way of exploring the outside world without letting go of the precious, yet limited time I have left to appreciate campus.

My first time abroad through Dartmouth was for my Hispanic Studies Foreign Study Program (FSP). I kickstarted my second year of college by diving deep into Madrid, where I lived for three months. And, honestly, the backpacking my partner and I did through Europe, starting from Madrid, at the end of my program, was the most adventurous and fun trip I've ever taken!

The end of your second year as a Dartmouth student is usually a special landmark. For the following Summer, your class can stay on campus taking classes. It's an amazing opportunity to bond with your class year, and enjoy sunny weather while you can. I, however, opted to not take part in Sophomore Summer—as we call that academic term you spend on campus. I had received an amazing grant to develop Indigenous language learning support materials back home in Brazil, and I knew that I wouldn't regret prioritizing that experience over staying on campus.

View from my flight to Rarotonga, capital of the Cook Islands

In my third year at Dartmouth, I went to Aotearoa (New Zealand) and the Cook Islands as part of the Linguistics FSP. Although I struggle to rank all of these experiences, for they were all amazingly transformative to me, I do think that the time I spent down there was the most I advanced in my academic and professional goals. As a linguist in training, I am passionate about language revitalisation—and the Māori are experts on that, and impressively willing to share their methodologies, histories, and experiences.

Now, for my last Summer as a Dartmouth student, I am interning at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. I would not have been able to take on this position without the support I received from the Native American & Indigenous Studies department. At Dartmouth, financial accessibility is always a priority. Throughout my FSPs, I was able to not worry about affordability, since your financial aid package is adapted to proportionally cover any extra costs that might be implied in the program abroad. And, finally, for internships, there are multiple departments (like Native American & Indigenous Studies), offices (like the Office of Pluralism and Leadership), and centers (like the Center for Professional Development) that offer financial support for students to undertake unpaid or low-paid jobs when they are not enrolled in classes