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.)
The Academic Skills Center (ASC) offers a variety of resources and programming for all undergraduates. People who want to learn how to take good notes, study for tests effectively, take tests well, and better manage their time — especially in a college setting — may benefit from academic coaching or by taking Learning at Dartmouth (a course that counts towards PE/Wellness credit). Those who find themselves procrastinating on assignments may benefit from weekly programs such as MoTEAvational Monday (tea included) and Get It Done. However, none of this changes the fact that some courses are just hard. Luckily, the ASC offers peer tutoring for a variety of courses in departments like Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Government, and Math, to name a few. Peer tutoring for a class usually includes two small-group sessions and one drop-in session per week, as well as a big two-hour final exam review session. Going to peer tutoring is a great way to understand concepts you're struggling with and do better in classes. There is no expected commitment, so you can attend as many or as few sessions as you need to. To take a deeper look into the peer tutoring program, I interviewed Sonny Hur '27, who has spent two terms as a peer tutor for GOVT 10: Quantitative Political Analysis.
What is the peer tutoring program, and what drew you to apply as a peer tutor? Peer tutoring is a program where you're officially getting help from older people who have recently taken the course about a year or two ago. I'd say it's really helpful, especially since peer tutors have already taken the class before. In one of my previous classes, I learned about a certain function called merge, and I asked, "How does this work?" during peer tutoring. I got help from a previous peer tutor. Now, as a peer tutor, I'm able to reinforce what I already know, and tutoring lets me prepare for future classes while also being able to help people who are struggling in the same places that I once was.As a QSS major, tutoring for GOVT 10 is really good because I'm able to effectively reinforce a lot of the basic skills required for my major and exercise knowledge that I already know for a few hours a week while being helpful to other students and making some money. It checks all the right boxes. Application-wise, I got an email from the peer tutoring center saying they would like to invite me to apply to peer tutoring. Mine was a special case because the professor for GOVT 10 didn't initially ask for a peer tutor, but he asked for one in the middle of the term. Since there was no one else who was able to peer tutor, they reached out to me, and I said I had tutoring experience.
What does being a peer tutor involve on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis? For me, a lot of the time, I just review what I've done before. I look over everything. I ask myself, "Is this concept something I need to really spend some time looking over?" If the answer is "Yes", then I will spend some time looking over it. I made a document that showed all of the concepts with simple definitions for students.
An email from a peer tutor to their students.
What are the benefits of going to peer tutoring? Do you have any advice for prospective students and/or incoming first years? Rather than annoying your friends, you might as well annoy someone who gets paid and probably knows a lot about the classes you're having trouble with, especially because peer tutors have gotten an A- or above in the class. Peer tutoring is not a lot of commitment, either. You can just go whenever you need it. It's very easy to just get help whenever you need it without feeling stressed about wasting someone's time. A lot of peer tutors will really help you reach that point where you understand the material. I think everyone should go to peer tutoring at least once because then you can see what it's like. If you're having trouble with homework, a problem set, or the class itself, just go to peer tutoring. For example, if you miss a class, peer tutors can help you through a quick review. Always reach out to your peer tutor, and don't be afraid to ask for advice! If you need help, at least for me, you can ask your peer tutor to set up a Zoom meeting without worrying you're going to bother them.
My first week back on campus– full of lots of hugs and an extensive amount of time spent making my Google calendar! Cold days and walking to classes after six weeks at home can be an adjustment, but my friends at Dartmouth make it all the more fun!
Let's Get Lost in the Library! A deep dive into the known, unusual, and hidden study spots all around Dartmouth's campus! Up first, the Berry Library—the iconic modern half of the central Baker-Berry Library!
I went on an awesome winterim (winter break) trip to Sedona, Arizona with the mountain biking club (DMBC) of the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC). Read on to hear about this break trip and also a bit about becoming a sub-club leader in the DOC.
As I reflect on my first semester at Dartmouth, I can't help but think about how one year ago, I wrote my "Why Dartmouth" supplemental essay. Let's see what has changed since then!
