Hello! I'm Cal Shin, and I am a '27 from Cary, North Carolina. I am hoping to double-major in Economics and Philosophy. Outside of academics and blogging, you'll find that I am involved The Dartmouth as a writer and designer, WebDCR as a radio show host, and Dartmouth QuestBridge Scholars Network (DQSN) as an executive board member. Ultimately, I am a storyteller, and I hope you enjoy these stories about my Dartmouth journey!
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.
Time flies. Before I knew it, my first fall at Dartmouth was over, and I was wrapping up the last of my final exams. As I said my goodbyes and "See you in six weeks!" to the friends I made on campus, I reflected on my decision to stay on campus during winterim.
Winterim is a combination of the words winter and interim, and it's the long winter break that incompasses Thanksgiving to New Year's, right before winter term starts. Most people choose to go back to their hometowns during winterim, but there are some who, for various reasons, decide to stay on campus - I being one of them.
Initially, I was somewhat anxious - and, if I'm being honest, still am. I tend to be someone who likes to keep themself busy, so I was worried that I wouldn't have anything to do. While the campus wasn't full of the usual crowd of people walking to and fro, I was pleasantly surprised at the things I could do.
During the first week of winterim, I focused on spending time with my friends. A friend of mine who lives in Vermont invited me to his family's place for Thanksgiving, and I took him up on that offer! Cue a somewhat chaotic and fun weekend that consisted of exploring White River Junction, relaxing with friends, rest, and good food.
Back to Hanover from Vermont!
I also took the time to familiarize myself with spaces closer to home - right on Dartmouth's campus. I took the chance to grab a meal with someone I hadn't really had the chance to talk to, and was surprised at how quickly we got along! We showed each other our favorite underrated spots on campus, and eventually, we settled in an empty classroom and watched a movie together.
That's a short recap of how my first week of winterim went, and there is more to come! Stay tuned.
It's easy to forget how easy it is to access walking trails during the hustle of a Dartmouth term. As graduation nears, I am reminded of how special it is to step off campus and enjoy quiet moments in nature.
With a solar eclipse sweeping across North America for the first time in nearly seven years on April 8th came a road-trip with hundreds of other Dartmouth students to a zone of totality near campus: St. Johnsbury, Vermont!
