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.)
Wonder what a day in my life during winterim at Dartmouth looks like? Here's what a typical winterim Tuesday such as today looks like.
10:45 AM: I left my dorm room and walked over to Robo (Robinson Hall). Due to some ongoing construction along my usual route, I had to take a slight detour behind the dorms in Mass Row. I proceeded to enter the building through the back entrance, climb to the topmost floor, and enter the studio. After setting up the equipment and opening up my playlist, I was ready.
11:00 AM: For the next hour, I became a radio deejay! I have a radio show within WebDCR, Dartmouth College Radio. In light of the holiday season, I exhibited my holiday spirit by playing some holiday songs, old and new. You can read more about my deejaying experience here.
12:00 PM: I finished my radio show! I then made a short walk to the room right next to the studio. Because WebDCR is a 24/7 radio station, it only makes sense to have songs constantly playing! I decided to take up the duty of loading the logs — that is, adding the full list of songs played on any given day and making sure they are played on air.
12:15 PM: Lunchtime! I left Robo and walked right across it to FoCo, Dartmouth's main dining hall. The timing was perfect since FoCo opens at noon for winterim.
1:45 PM: Around this time, I go to work, which entails helping out a professor. Someone from my FYSEP cohort recommended me for this position, and I am so glad I took it up! Part research, part secretarial work, this job is the perfect way to keep busy during what might otherwise be a very dull time.
4:00 PM:Dinner! You might think that 4:00 is a bit too early for dinner, but with FoCo's limited winterim hours, this is the best time. I made sure to grab my daily cup of orange lemonade when heading out.
6:00 PM:This is around the time I head back to my dorm and relax for the evening. Whether it's catching up on a show, drawing, or working on a blog post as I am now, I always make sure to end the day relaxed in my cozy room.
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!
