Hey y'all! I'm Caroline York, and I'm a '25 from Georgia! My hope is to share my Dartmouth experience with potential '28s, '29s, '30s 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 am a Hood Museum Intern! Otherwise, you'll find me in the Connecticut River, 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.
Dartmouth's liberal arts curriculum is all about trying out classes in different departments, so I decided to give the Religion Department a go!
I decided on the course "The Jewish Jesus" because although I grew up in a Christian household, I did not know much about the historical life of Jesus. This class specifically focused on Jesus' Jewish identity and how that influenced his life. The class also discussed how Jesus' Jewish identity has often been stripped away in favor of a European Jesus.
With the class's small size of around 20 students, it was an interactive learning experience where we were encouraged to speak up in class.
My overall favorite part of the class was my professor. Professor Vuong was a visiting professor for the summer, and she had so much enthusiasm for the material! It was clear she had extensive knowledge of Jesus' life and even knew several ancient languages so that she could tell us what terms meant during his time.
In order to get to know Professor Vuong better, I took her to the Pine Restaurant in town with another classmate through the Dartmouth Take-Your-Professor-to-Lunch program. Over lunch, we learned more about her beyond the classroom. We also told her all about Dartmouth's unique traditions!
During office hours, I got to dive into the material on a deeper level and connect stories from my childhood Bible School to stories in the classroom.
For my final paper, I analyzed the movie, "Jesus Christ Superstar," and compared fact and fiction within the film to the real story of Jesus.
Just recently, I saw the "Virgin of the Rocks" painting by Leonardo da Vinci at the National Gallery in London, which I was able to connect to the class!
Overall, "The Jewish Jesus" proved to be yet another example of the liberal arts advantage. Last weekend, I saw countless versions of the Westernized Jesus in the National Gallery, London, and I was reminded of the class. This gave me an opportunity to email my professor and catch up!
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!
After returning from an enriching study abroad program, I'm diving into a bustling spring semester here at Dartmouth. Here are my four courses I'm taking this term!
Dartmouth's liberal arts curriculum pushes students to explore new departments and draw connections between seemingly disparate disciplines. Come explore my Economics, Physics, and Asian, Societies, Cultures, and Languages classes!
