Hi guys! I'm Chidera and I'm a '25 from Lagos, Nigeria. I've lived in a big city for nearly half of my life, so it's great to experience the scenic outdoor spaces surrounding Dartmouth. Outside of the classroom, I conduct research with the economics department, I'm a peer tutor for the Academic Skills Center and I'm also involved with the Dartmouth Energy Alliance.
Taking this class was a random and unexpected decision that I am so happy I made. This class was about the intersection between human and primate evolution and our social behaviors. It really opened my eyes to how unique and beautifully diverse different societies are, and how this uniqueness influences our biology in interesting ways.
Taught by Professor Doyle, this has been my favorite class at Dartmouth so far. It was a calculus integrated with economic applications of the concepts we learned. It was the first time this class was offered at Dartmouth, and Professor Doyle made sure we all had a thorough understanding of the material. The fact that we were also able to see the real-world applications of the calculus concepts also made the class uniquely interesting.
I took this class to fulfill Dartmouth's first-year seminar requirement. In selecting a first-year seminar class, I sought out a department that I would not have taken a class in otherwise. It was an incredibly fulfilling experience and I learnt so much about Parisian Impressionist painters in the late 19th century like Monet, Manet, Degas, Morisot and Renoir. It also taught me about the political, social and economic conditions that typically inspire pivotal art movements.
SummerWashington D.C.
This summer, I interned at the International Finance Corporation in DC, through the Rockefeller Center's First-Year Fellows program which gives first-year students the opportunity to engage in public policy early in their Dartmouth careers. I lived with about twenty other members of Dartmouth's Class of 2025 and got to experience life in a vibrant city while gaining professional work experience.
I spent this term in Accra, Ghana for the African and African American Studies department's Foreign Study Program (FSP). I'm so glad I was able to take advantage of one of Dartmouth's study-abroad programs. During this FSP, I got to explore a new country and city while taking classes taught by the amazing professors at the University of Ghana.
After being away from campus for six months, I decided to start working towards fulfilling my distributive requirements. To fulfill my ART distrib, I took a Russian film class with a friend. It was an amazing experience and a testament to the ways a liberal arts education encourages you to approach each class through an interdisciplinary lens. For my final essay in this class, I explored the ways that government and political culture affect the nature of the film industry in different countries.
This class is one of the prerequisites for the international economics track's culminating experience. Dartmouth's economics major allows you to focus on a specific field that you're interested in, while also having the opportunity to take a couple of classes in other fields. Before taking this class, I had always been interested in international economics and this class definitely cemented my interests in the field.
I used my sophomore summer off term to conduct research with the economics department through the Dartmouth Economics Research Scholars and with the funding of the James O. Freedman Presidential Scholarship. My research project, which was mentored and advised by a faculty member, focused on the effects of European Union climate policy on the economy of my home country, Nigeria. It gave me the opportunity to apply and better understand several concepts I learnt in economics classes at Dartmouth.
This was the most enjoyable and impactful class I have ever taken at Dartmouth! Each assigned reading and class discussion was more enthralling and thought-provoking than the last. This class taught me how to think outside the box, write academic articles in the field of the humanities and how to intellectualise and synthesise my own lived experiences in a way that contributes meaningfully to existing literature in African Studies. Lastly, it taught me to think critically about pressing social issues within the African continent.
This summer, I'm in Washington D.C. for Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center First-Year Fellows program, doing a fellowship with the International Finance Corporation. Being away from the Dartmouth's campus and some of my closest friends has given me an opportunity to reflect on the community I was able to find at Dartmouth during this past academic year.
Because of Dartmouth's small size and its small-town location, Dartmouth students spend most of their time on campus, whether they're in a class, in their dorm rooms, at a social event or just grabbing a meal with friends. After a while, you get really comfortable and familiar with the campus and very close to other Dartmouth students, and these people, places and experiences become your community, a home away from home. For me, finding a community was really important; I was in a different country and continent more than 5,000 miles away from home and I had previously attended a boarding school for six years where I had known all my friends for six years! I was very excited to now find a group of people who I could call my community in a new school and a new location. Thankfully, at Dartmouth there are tons and tons of opportunities where you can meet people and find a community.
Firstly, Dartmouth's International Student Orientation, First-Year Trips and New Student Orientation provides such a welcoming atmosphere the minute you step on campus! Once I got to campus, I was welcomed by my international student mentors and placed in a smaller group along with some other international '25s. These were some of the first people I met and became friends from campus, and it was so helpful and comforting to be with other people who shared the same experience of being so far away from home. After that, we started First-Year Trips which was another opportunity to get very close to other Dartmouth students. I remember spending so much time each time with my trippees (aka my trip group mates), from morning hikes to afternoon activities and evening group dinners.
My International Student Orientation group
My First-Year Trips group
After Trips and orientation ended, I was nervous about making and maintaining friendships, because it seemed like there were no more structured opportunities to meet and connect with other Dartmouth students. However, I quickly realized that at Dartmouth, meeting new people and finding a community surpasses first week orientation activities. I've met my closest friends through classes, social events and extracurriculars and some Dartmouth-sponsored programs.
Classes at Dartmouth are an unexpected way to connect with other Dartmouth students. When I started classes after orientation week, I thought they'd be a purely academic activity, but I met so many amazing people through group projects, office hours and working on problem sets together. In one of my most academically challenging classes that I struggled with the most, I met one of my good friends because we worked on problem sets together each week. I also made a number of friends through identity-based extracurricular groups, such as the Dartmouth African Student Association (DASA).
These are just a few ways that I met the amazing friends I've made at Dartmouth who have enabled me to find a community and see campus as a home away from home.
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!
