A photo of a sunset, with silhouettes of trees at the foreground

Cal Shin

Class of 2027
A photo of a person holding a camera
Bio 

Hello! My name is Cal, and I am a '27 double-majoring in Economics and Philosophy. When I'm not working on assignments or writing a blog post, you can find me drawing, going on a Woccom, or spending time with my friends. And if I'm not doing any of those, I'm probably watching cat videos. Follow along as I share the moments that make Dartmouth feel like home!

Academic Program 

Economics and Philosophy

Favorite Thing Right Now 

FoCo's Sesame Garlic Cukes

Hometown 

Cary, North Carolina

Pronouns 

She/Her

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Cal's D-Plan

What's a D-Plan?

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: PHIL 1.08: The Philosophy of Time and Time Travel

      I took this course with Professor James Binkoski and loved it! I had never taken a philosophy course prior to Dartmouth, so this introductory course in the department was perfect! After all, it combined my interests of philosophy with time and time travel — at least, how time and time travel are depicted in the media. This course may initially seem to be on the more technical side, but Professor Binkoski made sure to break down the various time travel theories — various ways scientists and philosophers think of time and its supposed movement — in a manner that’s easy for anyone to understand. A very popular course overall; I am fortunate to have been able to take it during my first term here!

    • WinterOn Campus

      Favorite Class: ECON 1: The Price System - Analysis, Problems, and Policies

      I took this course with Professor Ha Yan Lee and it was absolutely amazing! I had my initial reservations about this course, mainly because I knew a lot of my classmates would have had some background knowledge while I had none. Professor Lee did a wonderful job of breaking down concepts in a manner that, as she often put it, is easy for even “your grandparents to understand”. Even beyond the course, the level of care Professor Lee exhibited towards her students is significant. She’s one of the most popular professors at Dartmouth, and for good reason! I ate lunch with her at The Pine through the Take a Faculty Member to Lunch program, and she gave me tremendous insight and advice! Because of this course, I have been inspired to explore more courses within the Econ department and potentially major in Economics.

    • SpringOn Campus

      Favorite Class: RUSS 7.07-01: Monster Trafficking

      I took this course with Professor Jasmina Savic and examined how the vampire figure evolved over time, starting with Slavic literature, going through Dracula and Twilight, and ending with “vampire” political figures. I realized what the portrayal of vampires could tell me about the thoughts of that society, including the fact that the early notions of vampirism are akin to modern-day diseases. For my final project, I wrote a research paper comparing the gumiho (the Korean nine-tailed fox) to several Western vampires.

    • SummerNew York City, New York

      I had the opportunity to visit New York City for the summer! I met up with a good friend of mine, explored the city itself, and went to a networking event with other college students.

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: ECON 10: Introduction to Statistical Methods

      ECON 10 is one of the required courses for the Economics major. Based on my stellar experience with Professor Ha Yan Lee during ECON 1, when I saw that she was teaching ECON 10 this term, I immediately jumped at the chance to take the course with her. Once again, Professor Lee did an amazing job of breaking down concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. (The fact that her slideshows were colorful and featured various pictures of cats helped.)

    • WinterOn Campus

      Favorite Class: PHIL 37: Ethical Theory

      My main interest in philosophy lies in normative and applied ethics, so when I saw the opportunity to take a class on the former, I didn’t hesitate! The class focused on consequentialism, utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. I enjoyed the ample opportunities for discussion, including discussion posts about the readings, as well as the table-wide conversations. My table, in particular, had lots to say, and there was one reading in particular where we ended up diving into discussion, not once, but twice! In fact, we had so much to say that all of us coincidentally chose to write our essay on this reading — and none of us knew until after we started talking about our papers!

    • SpringOn Campus

      Favorite Class: PHIL 22: Feminism and Philosophy

      While not explicitly required for the Philosophy major, you can choose to take this (and many other Philosophy courses!) as one of your four electives. Prior to taking this class, feminist philosophy was completely new to me. I had traditionally been exposed to “traditional” European philosophers, and taking the class helped me realize that my lack of exposure to other philosophers outside of this demographic was a product of epistemic injustice. The class consisted of weekly readings and discussion posts, some reflections, guest lectures from the authors of several readings, and a final project of pretty much any format about any topic of our choice! I walked away from the class with a much more nuanced understanding of agency, commodification, and labor; the harms that are a result of the very nature of women tailoring themselves under male desire seemed much more insidious.

    • SummerOn Campus

      Favorite Class: ECON 20: Econometrics

      Lots of Economics majors choose to take this class during their sophomore summer, myself included! This fast-paced class was both particularly rigorous and quite fulfilling. I walked away from every lecture feeling like I learned a lot, and by the end of the term, I realized I had gained a solid foundation in statistical knowledge, research, and best practices — all of which will be useful in my higher-level Economics courses. I particularly enjoyed working on the hands-on data exercises, where we got to handle real data through Stata!

    • FallHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: PHIL 11: Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy

      As a Philosophy major, PHIL 11 is one of several classes I had the option of taking to satisfy one of my major requirements. I wanted to take some time to really focus on some of the most “classic” philosophers one might think of when someone mentions philosophy. The bulk of our focus was on Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Categories. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 8:50, I walked into the classroom, ready for lectures and in-class discussions alongside around 20 other students. Assignments consisted of small discussions and deliverables with a team of 3 to 4 classmates, as well as drafts, peer reviews, and final versions of two papers. In each of our papers, we had the opportunity to connect our personal interests to the works of either Plato or Aristotle. I knew I was enjoying this class when, talking to my friends about the topic I chose, they pointed out my palpable excitement.

    • WinterConcord, NH

      As a Rockefeller Center Judicial Fellow, I spent my off term working under Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald. My experience working in his chambers was incredibly meaningful, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

    • SpringHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: PHIL 26: Philosophy and Computers

      I have wanted to take this class ever since my first year, and it did not disappoint! Don’t let the name of the class scare you - it’s not computer science-heavy. PHIL 26 was a philosophy class exploring the philosophical and ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI) — and what better place is to do so than Dartmouth, the birthplace of AI? This class was co-taught by two professors, which made for one of the most engaging classroom experiences I’ve had so far. Each class was a lively discussion between us and the professors, especially since we were all interested in AI and its growing role in our daily lives. Some of the most fascinating topics we explored in that class included whether we can and should trust AI, personal relationships with AI (e.g., friendship, love, therapy), and fairness.

A photo of Baker Tower with the words, "Writing My Way Through Dartmouth: Three Years of Blogging"

Writing My Way Through Dartmouth: Three Years of Blogging

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Three years ago today, I received an email that would shape my entire Dartmouth experience in a way I never could have predicted. It's funny to think that it all started because I was a prospective student obsessively reading this very blog.

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Posted 08/29/2026 at 9:00 AMAll Text Posts

Expectations vs. Reality: Dartmouth Edition

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I came to Dartmouth with a lot of assumptions. Here's what Dartmouth is actually like.

  1. No. 1

    You do not need to be outdoorsy.

    A photo of the woods overlooking the mountains

    If you had asked me three years ago what word I would have used to describe Dartmouth, I would have said, “Outdoorsy.” I imagined that everyone enjoyed camping, hiking, skiing, or pursuing some other adventurous activity outdoors. It’s true that the outdoors is a big part of campus. Most incoming students engage in First-Year Trips as part of their orientation program. While First-Year Trips can consist of more “traditional” outdoor experiences such as cabin camping, canoeing, and hiking, there is a wide variety of trips designed for all experience levels (including no experience at all). There are trips that sleep on campus, trips that sleep in cabins, and trips that sleep completely outside! First-Year Trips can be a fun experience, but it’s totally okay if your involvement with the outdoors mostly ends there. 

  2. No. 2

    Dartmouth is not as rural as you might think.

    A photograph of downtown Hanover

    For the longest time, I thought that Dartmouth was completely surrounded by the woods, and that’s a bit of an exaggeration. What’s much closer in proximity is a quaint downtown Hanover filled with amazing restaurants, small businesses, and other useful locations—all within walking distance. 

     

  3. No. 3

    Winters might be better than you expect.

    A building with snow and a snowman

    Coming from an area where we might be lucky to get an inch of snow once a year, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about New England winters. While winters here can feel cold, especially if you’re from a warmer place, Dartmouth has plenty of resources so you can be warm while also having fun. We also have some really awesome traditions and activities, such as PE classes on skiing and a campus-wide snowball fight to celebrate the first big snowfall of the term. And the snow can be quite beautiful, as pictured above in the photo my friend, Faith, took. 

     

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Posted 06/1/2026 at 9:00 AMAll List Posts

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