Hey y'all! I'm Caroline York, and I'm a '25 from Georgia! My hope is to share my Dartmouth experience with potential '29s, '30s, '31s and beyond! On campus, I write sports for The Dartmouth, am a Center for Social Impact SIBS mentor, am in Christian life, a Tour Guide, a Dartmouth Emergency Medical Services (EMS) member, and do medical research! Otherwise, you'll find me at the Norwich Farmers' Market, studying in the Tower Room, and running along the Appalachian Trail. Welcome to my world!
I initially took this class because I wanted to know more about Dartmouth’s history with Native Americans. It ended up being my favorite class because Professor Duthu was so enthusiastic about Native American affairs. He related the lectures to his own experiences growing up on a reservation, which made the class come to life.
As a potential Classics major on the pre-health track, this class was perfect for me! We learned about different medical practices from Rome and Greece and how medicine had changed in the past 2,000 years. We had a class in the Geisel School of Medicine and got to hold human organs!
I took this class because I wanted to learn more about the economy. Econ 2 focuses on the current economic climate in the US, so we would follow the DOW Jones on a daily basis to establish trends. In an economy impacted by a pandemic, inflation, and a war, this class was so helpful in my understanding of the financial climate of the country.
Physics with Professor Blencowe was delightful. His enthusiasm for the subject matter created excitement for students. The labs were hands-on and interactive to learn about the mechanics of the world.
This class fulfilled the Interdisciplinary Approach to my Global Health minor, and I enjoyed every minute of it. With Professor McCabe, we discussed gender and how its structure impacts our daily lives. My final research project studied gender within "Grey's Anatomy," which was created by Shonda Rhimes '91.
I used my "off-term" to travel to Hanoi, Vietnam for a Dartmouth Dickey Center Global Health Internship. I worked for the Institute of Population, Health, and Development, and studied health disparities in Vietnam.
This class was taught by a visiting professor, and she did an excellent job of engaging the class and making the material exciting. We learned about the historical Jesus figure in a Jewish context, and we connected the class content to modern day movies about Jesus.
I did a transfer term at Trinity College, Dublin, which means I took three courses at Trinity. My favorite was "Roman Archaeology" because I had never taken an archaeology course yet for my Classical Studies major.
Math 3 with Professor Erp was such a delight! He made math so understandable and accessible. I can honestly say I enjoy doing integrals after this class!
This class was fantastic! Professor Kramer is very knowledgeable about this field. Although I don't have an engineering background, this class was a great introduction. I learned how everything from medical tools to the Colosseum were made and built.
SummerAtlanta, GA
This was my first off-term (meaning I wasn't taking any Dartmouth classes) since my sophomore spring! I did a wonderful internship that was completely funded by Dartmouth; I'll write blog posts to share more!
FallAtlanta, GA
This was another great off-term internship that was funded by Dartmouth!
WinterAtlanta, GA
For winter term, I decided to do an internship with an Atlanta-based ophthalmologist that was completely funded by the Center for Professional Development (CPD). I worked for Dr. Jordan Stanley, who specializes in glaucoma and cataract surgeries, and I had the opportunity to shadow him and gain hands-on clinical experience that is invaluable to a future career in medicine. Thank you, CPD and Dr. Stanley for this incredible term!
SpringAthens, Greece
Favorite Class: Ancient Literature and History
I finished my time at Dartmouth on the Classics Foreign Study Program (FSP) in Athens, Greece. For seven weeks, we took classes at a partner institution, College Year Athens, and for the remaining four weeks we travelled to Sicily, the Greek Peloponnese, the Cycladic Islands, and a week on an archaeological dig on Despotiko Island. This was an incredible experience and a great way to finish my Classical Studies major.
This spring term, I've been on the Dartmouth Classics FSP(Foreign Study Program) in Greece, which has been an incredible experience. For seven weeks of the program, we live and study in Athens through College Year Athens, taking two courses: Topography of Athens and Myth & Religion. For the remaining four weeks of the program, we make four different trips: the Greek Peloponnese, Sicily, the Cyclades Islands, and a choice between doing an archaeological dig on Despotiko Island or a trip to Northern Greece.
Out of 27 Dartmouth students in our program, 17 chose to do the dig and 10 chose to travel around Northern Greece. I opted to step into the archaeological world for a week because it seemed like a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience! We are fortunate to be led by Professor Paul Christesen (referred to as PCC by students), a world-renowned Ancient Greek scholar with connections throughout Greece, which led us to Despotiko.
Me playing archaeologist for the week!
For the first two days of our trip, we explored Paros, a beautiful island with lots of history (and great beaches). We had a personal tour of the island from the man who runs the Paros Archaeological Museum and Despotiko digging project, which was such a fantastic experience! The group also hiked to the Delion, an ancient sanctuary to Apollo, for great sunset views. During a free afternoon, my friend and I explored the town of Naoussa, and after bumping into PCC, we spent the afternoon roaming around with him. At Dartmouth, professors want to get to know their students inside and outside the classroom, and this is just another example of that!
After our weekend in Paros, the group moved to Antiparos, the island right next to Despotiko Island, which is uninhabited. On Despotiko was a sanctuary to Apollo, and it has been an active archaeological site for over twenty years.
Here I am at the temple to Apollo!
The week of digging was full of amazing surprises! For the first day, the group pulled up grass and weeds so that we could excavate properly. During the second and third days, we split up into smaller groups, tackling different areas of the temple. I was stationed to pickaxe and shovel on an outer wall, and my group discovered pottery that helped date the wall to the Archaic period, around 700-500 BC, which was very exciting! On the fourth day, I worked on a room in the temple, and my group uncovered an adjacent room's wall that hadn't been seen in over 2,000 years! For the final day, I helped wash all the pottery that had been found during the week, and I saw beautiful patterns, which will hopefully be in a museum someday!
A sneak peek of the group's discoveries from the week
Taking part in archaeological digs typically costs thousands of dollars, but our Dartmouth tuition covered the entire experience! All of our lunches, tools, ferry rides, hotel rooms, and pretty much everything we needed for the experience were covered by Dartmouth, which made the trip financially accessible for all students.
PCC is famous for daily "takeaways", which are when the group says what they learned from the day. My takeaway from the trip was that archaeology is an incredible field, and that attending a place like Dartmouth provides numerous opportunities to step outside the classroom and engage in new experiences.
