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.
Fall term is almost over! We have reached that point of the year when final presentations are due soon, and final exams are approaching. While brainstorming for this blog post, I reflected on my first year at Dartmouth and realized something had changed drastically. As a first year, I remember taking to heart the Shakespearean philosophy of "the world is your oyster." I wanted to be in every club, take every class, go abroad as often as possible, do everything, and be everywhere; sounds relatable?
But, as I wrap up my first term as a junior, things are different. Hopefully, I don't sound jaded in saying this, but I've learned to appreciate the downtime and not spend every spare moment searching for academic/extracurricular opportunities.
My new favorite hobby is gaming. And, yes, I spend some Friday nights locked inside my room with friends, Mario Karting our minds away. Although some think of Dartmouth as home to party scenes and Greek traditions, it was here that I learned what I like doing in my free time. Not everyone's Dartmouth experience is the same, and that's okay. If anything, I learned to cherish the fact that, on this campus, there are many options for what to do on a weekend—including playing video games with friends.
So, yes, I now play video games. I am a 21-year-old man who discovered a secret fascination for his Nintendo Switch. Thus, my Fall term has been interesting, but definitely in a good way! In these moments playing Mario with friends, I feel the closest to them, as if we were at home together.
As a Digital Media Student Director for Dartmouth's First-Generation Office, it is my role on campus to amplify first-gen voices, foster community, and create meaningful connections through creative outreach.
