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.
As the Dartmouth Admissions Office reads through applications for Dartmouth's Class of 2028, I have been conducting a few applicant interviews, especially for international applicants. I often leave a few minutes for questions at the end of the interviews to allow applicants to gain a perspective on Dartmouth from a current Dartmouth student. Many applicants have asked me how I balance and navigate academic stress and difficulties at Dartmouth. Answering these questions has made me appreciate the various resources available at Dartmouth that help students manage academic challenges.
At a college like Dartmouth, where students place a lot of value on academic excellence, rigor, and exploration, it is sometimes easy to feel overwhelmed. However, one of the first things I realized that helped me deal with this feeling was that every other Dartmouth student goes through the same things and that so much help is available from peers, clubs, and campus organizations. Firstly, because of how small classes at Dartmouth are, it's almost certain that you can make a new friend in class—or take a class with someone you already know—and work together on problem sets, prepare study guides, and study for exams. Aside from peers and classmates, professors, teaching assistants, learning fellows, and group tutors also offer several office hours each week. For instance, in my econometrics class alone, there are 2 hours of office hours with the TAs, 2 hours of office hours with the professors and 3 hours of group tutoring.
Another important lesson I've learned is that a bad grade does not make or break your experience at Dartmouth. Aside from the fact that grades do not define your experience as a student, the Dartmouth term and curriculum are set up in a way that gives room for trial and error. Students are allowed to select up to three courses with a non-recording option (NRO) which basically allows a student to set the minimum letter grade, and if they end up getting a grade less than that, the grade is not recorded. Many of my friends have used this option when taking a class in a new discipline they want to explore. Dartmouth also allows students to withdraw from a course they might not be performing or enjoying as much as they would like up until the seventh or eighth week of classes, which is more than halfway through the term.
One of the staple characteristics of the D-Plan is the off-term, a term in which you are not taking classes! Most students at Dartmouth will take at least one off-term, and this winter happens to be my turn! What will I be doing?
Are you artistically inclined? Are you not artistically inclined but still love making art? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the Dartmouth Donald Claflin Jewelry Studio is for you!
It's hard to believe that it has been a year since I wrote my first end-of-fall-term reflection. It felt like only yesterday that I stepped into my dorm room this September, eager to reunite with my friends.
