Hello! My name is Cal Shin, and I am a '27 planning to double-major in Economics and Philosophy. Outside of academics and blogging, you can find me drawing (perhaps even designing for The Dartmouth), hosting my radio show as a proud deejay at WebDCR, perusing the Free Market, or hanging out with friends. Ultimately, I am an artist and a storyteller. I hope you enjoy reading about my Dartmouth experience; the journey has just begun!
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.)
Early one January, I received a Listserv notification announcing that applications for The Dartmouth were open. For those of you who don't know, The Dartmouth, colloquially known as The D, is one of two main newspapers at the College (the other one being The Dartmouth Review). I was shocked at the wide variety of positions available. On the editorial side, there were traditional roles such as reporters for News, Arts, Sports, Opinion, and Mirror, but also specialized categories such as Photography, Design, Cartoon, Multimedia, Data Visualization, Templating, and Crosswords. Categories on the business side were Business Development, Finance and Sales, Strategy, Software, and Digital Media & Analytics. Given my ample experience in digital art, I immediately knew I wanted to apply to be a member of the design team. Additionally, I decided to take a leap and apply to be a reporter for The Mirror, despite having no prior journalism background whatsoever. To my surprise and utter delight, I was accepted to both positions.
My work as a writer for The Mirror was quite fulfilling. Following an onboarding process, I was quickly thrown into the weekly schedule of a Mirror reporter. During Sunday's Story Assignment Meetings (SAMs), I decided which story I wanted to cover for that week. I would then receive a Story Assignment Blitz (SAB) from my editors, listing out suggested angles and next steps for how to go about finding sources for that particular story. Most of the time, I was able to find sources due to my own connections, although help from my editors certainly didn't hurt! In addition to writing for The Mirror, I was a designer for The D. As someone who has been doing digital art since 2019, I was confident I would be able to make compelling graphics that accompany articles, particularly for The Mirror and the arts section. My first contribution to The D was writing and drawing the graphic for an article about long-distance relationships, just in time for Valentine's Day.
I chose to remain involved during my freshman summer off-term. Here is what my process as a designer looks like:
The D uses a website called Airtable to keep track of everything that needs to happen. Lots of articles are tagged as needing a visual accompaniment. This can be in the form of a photo, design, or an image courtesy of someone else. As a designer, I focus on articles that need an artistic design as an accompaniment. At the beginning of every week, I scroll through the list of articles to find one I am compelled to draw for.
After picking the design and putting my name in, I use my preferred art program to bring the idea to life. This process begins with me making a basic sketch, pulling in reference images from sites like Pinterest based on the theme of that particular article. Next, I usually dive straight into the lineart, coloring, and shading. I have been so used to regularly sending in works in progress (WIPs), but I've learned that is not necessary for most designs in regards to The D.
One of the things that surprised me the most is how relaxed the design process is. Not only are WIPs unnecessary, there are no weekly meetings, just asynchronous weekly check-ins and reminders. The only requirements for designs are the canvas ratio and, for Mirror Editor Notes, the appropriate Mirror logo. Special issue covers are slightly more detailed, but the only stipulations are the canvas size, certain logos and text, and any type of art centered around that issue's particular theme. For example, the 2024 Freshman Special Issue was centered around the theme, "In Orbit." I incorporated that theme by drawing a silhouette of a hand holding Baker Tower, a floating human silhouette, planets, and stars.
I designed the cover for the 2024 Freshman Special Issue.
There's nothing quite like seeing your work published in the oldest collegiate newspaper in the United States!
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
