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.
Dartmouth encourages students to pursue their academic interests both through classes during the term, as well as extracurricular activities such as research, fellowships and internships that enrich their learning experience. This is further enhanced by the profound relationships students develop with their professors that allows them to work on research projects in collaboration with these professors.
At Dartmouth, there are many opportunities to conduct research on your own or in collaboration with professors, while also getting compensated for your work. Firstly, it is not uncommon for students to reach out to professors who they would be interested in doing research with. Dartmouth's office of Undergraduate Advising and Research (UGAR) actually compiles and maintains a database of faculty research projects. Through this database, students can find out what research projects faculty members are working on and reach out to professors to work on projects they are interested in.
Aside from this, many departments also have programs that connect undergraduate students with professors to conduct research with. For example, the economics department organizes the Dartmouth Economic Research Scholars (DERS) program to provide additional mentoring and support in economics research to students with strong research potential and high academic standing. The DERS program begins with paid assistantships on faculty projects, but often evolves into research collaborations with faculty and independent student projects, including senior theses. The program also aims to prepare interested students for graduate studies in economics and related fields. Other departments such as Dartmouth Engineering organize the First Year Research in Engineering Experience (FYREE) program that provides first-year undergraduate students and prospective engineering majors with early hands-on experience and mentoring within engineering.
In terms of funding and compensation, there are several avenues through which students can get paid for their research work. Programs such as Presidential Scholars and Undergraduate Research Assistantships at Dartmouth (URAD) provide a $1200 stipend per term to students selected for the programs. Students can also be individually compensated by the individual departments that they are working with.
Working on a research project with a faculty mentor, as part of the DERS program, has been an incredibly fulfilling experience this term. Seeing the ways that theories and concepts I have learnt in my past classes apply to the creation of economic policy has definitely cemented my interests in economics.
Dartmouth's liberal arts curriculum pushes students to explore new departments and draw connections between seemingly disparate disciplines. Come explore my Economics, Physics, and Asian, Societies, Cultures, and Languages classes!
