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.
Hello, it's definitely been a while! I can't believe I wrote my last blog post for freshman year more than a month ago. I decided to continue blogging this summer to show how I'm still connected to the Dartmouth community and share the experiences I've been able to have through one of Dartmouth's amazing programs for its students. This summer, I'm in Washington D.C. for the Rockefeller Center's First-Year Fellows program. The First-Year Fellows program gives freshmen the opportunity to engage with public policy through a fellowship placement in a public policy organization in Washington D.C. with a Dartmouth alumnus mentor.
First-Year Fellows with Congresswoman Annie Kuster (a Dartmouth alum!) on the steps of Capitol Hill
Applications for the program opened in late January and were due at the end of March, and there were three prerequisites to participate in the program. Firstly, you had to complete the Dartmouth Leadership Attitudes and Behaviors (D-LAB) program, a seven-week program designed to help first-year students discover the relationship between leadership and personal values and sync daily activities with values and priorities. Secondly, you had to take Public Policy 5, an introductory policy class in the winter term. Lastly, you had to take an introductory statistical methods class sometime during freshman year. Then, you had to complete an online application which required you to submit your transcript, resume, a faculty recommendation and complete a few short essay questions.
I was so happy to find out in mid-April that I had been accepted into the program (along with 25 other Dartmouth students) and had been offered a fellowship placement at the International Finance Corporation, a developmental finance institution with an alumni mentor from the Class of 2009, especially since I've always been really interested in development economics. The Rockefeller Center also provided free housing in DC for first-year fellows and a $1500 stipend for living expenses.
Views of Capitol Hill during an evening walk in DC
Being in a corporate work environment as a young person, especially after only one year of college, can be really intimidating. Even though I was super excited to have gotten into the First-Year Fellows program, I was really nervous because I felt that I wasn't prepared enough to substantially contribute to an organization. Thankfully, the Rockefeller Center also provided the Civic Skills Training (CST) as a component of the First-Year Fellows program. Through four on-campus sessions in the spring term and an additional five days of training in DC the week before our fellowships started, we were taught so many necessary skills to survive and flourish in a professional setting such as public speaking, project management, communication strategies, networking, and professionalism. The Rockefeller Center also hosted a reception for First-Year Fellows and Dartmouth alumni living and working in DC where we could ask questions about work while sharing our fondest Dartmouth memories.
First-Year Fellows during Civic Skills Training
I've been in DC for three weeks and it has been such a fun experience! I've been learning so many amazing things about the organization I've been placed with, as well as my career goals and aspirations. It's also amazing to share these experiences with other Dartmouth First-Year Fellows. We all live in an apartment building in an amazing location, going to museums, amusement parks, comedy shows, birthday dinners and everything in between. I've gotten so close to a group of people that I may otherwise have never gotten close to if I wasn't a First-Year Fellow, and I'm so thankful to the Rockefeller Center and Dartmouth as a whole for giving me this amazing opportunity.
Some First-Year Fellows and me at my roommate Teya's birthday dinner
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.
I have written about being a student worker plenty of times in the past, but I have yet to talk about one of my favorite jobs ever: ticket selling at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
This past interim, I was part of an interfaith group that traveled to Washington DC! Houses of worship were a huge part of the trip and we were fortunate to have some wonderful tours and conversations.
In this post, I share what I'll be doing during my off-term this spring, and also give some advice for finding internships and off-term work in the context of Dartmouth's quarter system!
