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 Dartmouth prepares to welcome the incoming Class of 2026 this fall, I was inspired to interview Professor Doyle and understand what makes Dartmouth such a unique and exciting community from a professor's perspective. I asked her a few questions about her background, why she chose Dartmouth and her favorite aspects of being a member of this community.
Me: I think we could start with describing your journey towards your current role as a Dartmouth professor.
Professor Doyle: I decided I wanted to study economics in high school and got a job as a research assistant, which I did for about five years! I attended Mount Holyoke College for my undergraduate and MIT for graduate school. After graduation I worked at the Federal Reserve Washington DC where I met my husband. My husband and I had the opportunity to move to Dartmouth and start teaching here in 2008. At Dartmouth I teach Microeconomics, Statistics Mathematics for Economic Analysis. I, and a few other faculty members in the Economics Department are Senior Lecturers, which means we focus more on teaching and less on research.
Me: What attracted you to Dartmouth at first and what unique aspects of the Dartmouth experience inspire you to keep teaching here?
Professor Doyle: Moving to Dartmouth presented the opportunity to be in a college town in a medium sized university where it's big enough that a lot of things are going on, but it's not so big that lost in a sea of people. It was also great for our kids to be part of this tight-knit community. We live right next to campus, so we're close to the Skiway, the cross-country ski trails, kayaking on the river, sports events, theatre events and all these other great aspects of a college town. The economics department is also so warm and vibrant. There's such a great community amongst the faculty; I live in walking distance from several faculty members and our children even go to the same schools!
Me: What do you think makes the student-professor relationship at Dartmouth so special?
Professor Doyle: The small class size makes me feel like I really get to know my students as individuals. It's also a compact campus so you run into students often and you get to connect with them outside of the classroom. I get to reconnect with students and see what they've been up to since they took my class. It's fun to run into seniors in the spring term and see what they're working on for their capstone courses and projects and find out what their plans are after graduation.
Me: What's your most memorable experience as a Dartmouth professor?
Professor Doyle: Seeing graduating seniors on commencement weekend with their families is a really big deal and a very special time. Since we live near campus, we always try to come and see them processing in for the ceremony. The economics department does a coffee and donuts brunch for graduating students and their families.
Me: What advice do you have for incoming Dartmouth students?
Professor Doyle: Because of Dartmouth's unique quarter system, the terms move quite fast. You have to be open and ready to meet your classmates and faculty, asking questions, attending office hours, sooner rather than later. Start actively participating right from the start because the quarters tend to fly by. To really thrive, it's best to be proactive and keep up with the pace.
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