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!
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!
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.
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.
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.)
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
SummerSan Francisco, CA
I spent my third and last off-term doing an internship in San Francisco, California. I explored San Francisco, visited some classic attractions, and even met up with some Dartmouth alumni!
After spending my junior winter away from campus for my off-term, coming back to Hanover in the spring was quite exciting! I missed being on campus, seeing my friends, and getting back into the rhythm of being a student. This spring ended up being quite busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way! For example, I chose to take two Economics courses in a single term, which I hadn't done before. However, I ended up really enjoying how different the two classes were!
ECON 24: Development Economics gave me the opportunity to explore some of the biggest economic challenges developing countries face. Throughout the term, we explored questions surrounding poverty, hunger, global health, saving and lending, slums, and more. ECON 24 looked very different from other Econ classes I had taken. Instead of long problem sets or a final research paper, we wrote a series of policy briefs. At the beginning of the term, we each chose a developing country and stuck with it throughout the course. For each brief, we had to propose and advocate for a policy and explain what the policy would do, why it made sense, and often respond to a potential counterargument to the policy. The briefs were only a page, which sounds easy until you realize just how much information has to fit in one page.
While ECON 24 was focused on understanding economic challenges and thinking about potential policy solutions, ECON 57: Data Analysis for Economic Policy - Economics of Career and Family gave me the chance to use messy data to investigate questions related to gender in the workforce. We spent the term investigating questions surrounding gender and the labor market, including what causes the gender gap, where it's larger or smaller, differences in wages, bargaining power, childcare and parental leave, and more. This class was hands-on and strengthened my data analysis skills. We had weekly problem sets using Stata and gave an in-class presentation of a research paper presenting the paper's research questions, methodology, and findings. For our final project, we worked in groups to conduct our own research on some aspect of the gender gap at the executive (e.g., CEO) level, write a research paper, and present our findings to the class.
Last, but certainly not least, is PHIL 26: Philosophy and Computers, a class I had wanted to take since my first year. No, the word "computers" in the name of the course does not mean I suddenly became a computer science major. In fact, PHIL 26 was a philosophy class exploring the philosophical and ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI), and what better place to have those conversations than at Dartmouth, where the term "artificial intelligence" was coined? 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.
Outside of the classroom, I had a few exciting things going on this term! One of the biggest changes for me was that I took on a new leadership role as VP-Finance of my sorority, which is what we call our treasurer. This position has been both challenging and fun, which is exactly why I like it! I hadn't managed the finances of an organization this large before, so there definitely was a learning curve at first, but that's also what made this role so exciting.
Another unique part of my term is that I needed to leave Hanover at the end of week 9 to begin my summer internship. This is actually pretty common among juniors starting their junior summer internships. I had never left campus that early before, so I made sure to plan ahead and finish all of my final projects and assignments before I left. Luckily, my courses were structured in a way that made this possible, and I made sure to reach out to my professors well in advance! It was strange leaving Hanover while many of my friends were still on campus finishing up their classes. Usually, the end of the term means everyone is in the library studying for finals, finishing papers, and likely counting down the days until break. Thankfully, Green Key, one of Dartmouth's beloved traditions, gave me the brief reprieve I needed.
This term was certainly busy, between classes, stepping into a new leadership role, enjoying my spring term and navigating a slightly unusual end of it. I'm looking forward to what's next!
Last September, a friend and I crafted a ten-item bucket list for our final year as undergraduates. It's the end of our senior spring now. These are some of the boxes I've checked.
Starting college is an exciting transition, but it can also come with its share of challenges. Luckily, students have access to a wide range of free mental health resources at Dartmouth, one of which is the Counseling Center.
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Greta Richardson '26, an engineering major, showed me around her room in her off-campus apartment, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
