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.
When I tell people I'm a Classics major, they are often perplexed. Because it is a niche major, it goes under the radar. In a nutshell, a Classics major studies the Romans and Greeks, including their Latin and Greek languages, as well as their history, architecture, culture, philosophy and especially their influence on modern society.
I started taking Latin in middle school, and ever since then, I loved the subject because it allows me to understand Romanic languages—Spanish, French, Italian, just to name a few– as well as think critically when reading complicated Latin sentences. After having a fantastic Latin teacher in high school, I decided to pursue a Classics major in college.
Here at Dartmouth, there are four different majors and minors within the Classics department, including Ancient History, Classical Archaeology, Classical Languages and Literatures, and the most popular, Classical Studies. While the first three majors listed have a niche focus, the Classical Studies major is a general major that encompasses history, archaeology, languages, as well as culture. I chose the Classical Studies major because I wanted to take a variety of different classes.
Because the department is small, I get specialized attention from my professors in office hours and lunches through the Take Your Professor to Lunch program. Each professor has their own specialty, so I have taken classes from almost every professor in the department, which has been such a treat!
The Classical Studies major has ten required classes for the major, as well as a Culminating Experience, which can either be a senior thesis or an eleventh class with a small research paper. I plan to do the eleventh class and do a research project in my Greek and Roman Engineering Technology class!
For me, the Classical Studies major works well with being pre-med because I get to balance my STEM and humanities classes. Every term, I typically take one pre-med class that is test based with a Classics class that is writing based, along with a third class that either fulfills my minor or a distributive requirement. This balance helps me split my studying time and receive a balanced education.
Overall, I have loved my Classical Studies major and appreciate the humanities lens it has provided me!
At Dartmouth, there is an undergraduate requirement for language; after all, it is the liberal arts! Fulfilling this requirement looks different for various people and I will focus on my experience.
Traditionally, Dartmouth students take three courses during a term, but I decided to take four courses this term! Learn about course load and the academic system at Dartmouth.
As I approach the halfway mark of my Dartmouth journey this spring, I find myself reflecting on the significance of distributive and world culture requirements in shaping my academic experience.
