Cindy Background

Cindy Shen

Class of 2021
Cindy with a plant on her head

About 

Hello there! I am an avid doodler and caffeine addict who can be spotted 24/7 at KAF (the coffee shop in Baker-Berry Library). I've grown up skiing in the Rockies, so I'm a hype man for low temp activities like throwing snow at friends and carving ice sculptures (yes, I actually did that!). Aside from blogging, I am an economics teaching assistant, design mobile, web, and VR apps for Dartmouth's DALI Lab, and travel around with the fencing and debate teams for competitions.

Academic Program 

Economics

Favorite Thing Right Now 

Zoom sessions with my closest friends!

Hometown 

Salt Lake City, Utah

Pronouns 

She/Her

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Cindy's D-Plan

What's a D-Plan?

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: The Price System (Prof. Zarnowski)

      Freshman fall flew by! While I unwittingly took some of Dartmouth's more difficult classes, I met so many amazing people and got to explore campus with a fresh set of eyes (I'd never visited before). I also got inspired (after taking my prof to lunch) to pursue a major in economics!

    • WinterOn Campus

      Favorite Class: The Supreme Court (Prof. Kalish)

      Winter was my favorite term freshman year, largely because I felt more settled into the campus rhythm and took awesome classes. Prof. Kalish (my Writing 5 -- a required class for all freshmen -- professor) was not only fun and insightful, but also made an active effort to connect with every student. It's one of the best classes I've ever taken.

    • SpringOn Campus

      Favorite Class: Macroeconomics (Prof. Comin)

      In my opinion, Hanover is most beautiful in the spring: you see everything from fluffy snowflakes to vibrant blossoms. The weather kept me cheerful, even if spring was my most rigorous term. My favorite class was Econ 22 with Prof. Comin, who led a case-based course that helped us understand the real-world applications of what we were learning. He's also a super cool guy to chat with, and he's done fascinating research.

    • SummerOn Campus

      Favorite Class: Drawing I (Prof. Reisman)

      Most freshmen don't stay "on" their first summer, but I scheduled my D-Plan around my winter internship. Summer didn't disappoint: I love the new friends I made and the classes I took (and I also got super fit from attending two PE classes). Taking Drawing I was also one of the highlights of my summer. It's a lot of work, but I'd rather spend 10 hours on a drawing than 10 hours on a problem set.

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: Games & Economic Behavior (Prof. Snyder)

      I finally met the '22s!! (Seriously, you all are so cool.) This term, I took a class on game theory, which is basically a subject where we literally learn about games. While it was by far my most challenging class this term, I thought that what we learned was super rewarding.

    • WinterSalt Lake City, UT

      This was my first "off" term since I arrived on campus! I interned for Cross Creek, a venture capital firm in Salt Lake City, Utah (my hometown!).

    • SpringOn Campus

      Favorite Class: Public Finance & Public Policy (Prof. Skinner)

      I could RAVE about public economics and Prof. Skinner for hours. While public econ wasn't easy, it challenged me to think critically about my political philosophies and about the economic theories I'd previously considered fact. Prof. Skinner was one of the most engaged professors I've ever had; he even recommended a few running routes to me!

    • SummerOn Campus

      Favorite Class: DALI Independent Study (Prof. Loeb)

      The famous "Sophomore Summer" and my second summer on campus! I took an unconventional four-course term complete with Econometrics, Gender & Philosophy, DALI Lab Independent Research, and Independent Studies in Engineering! I had so much fun studying on a dock by the Connecticut River and having lots of gelato under the sun. :)

    • FallWashington D.C.

      Favorite Class: My Internship!

      I had the opportunity of a lifetime to be an economic policy intern at the White House! I loved my job, met incredible people, and had plenty of time to Facetime my friends on campus.

    • WinterOn Campus

      Favorite Class: Comparative Politics (Prof. Horowitz)

      This was such a fun winter! I went skiing with friends, spent a few weekends eating Chinese food in Boston, and to top it all off, I took my very first government class. I really loved learning about political science from a comparative perspective; specifically, how institutions can affect the way a society can vote or even organize collective action. I wish I'd taken more government classes earlier.

    • SpringOn Campus, Virtually

      Favorite Class: Authoritarianism in CE Europe (Prof. Aha)

      While I was physically camped out at home in Salt Lake City, Utah, I still spent plenty of time with friends (albeit over Zoom), and I got to know professors in office hours! I also had the rare chance to spend quality time with my parents and my dog while also learning a lot in my classes on business strategy (offered by the Tuck School of Business) and authoritarianism in Central and Eastern Europe.

    • SummerNew York City, Virtually

      I spent the summer as an investment research intern at J.P. Morgan. My internship was completely virtual, but I still got to befriend my coworkers, and I'll be going back full-time after I graduate!

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: Adam Smith & Political Economy (Prof. Clark)

      After six long months away, I finally came back just in time for the beautiful New England fall. I began writing my economics thesis in a difficult yet rewarding advanced econometrics class with Professor Staiger, attempted acting in a play, and learned about the nuances behind Adam Smith's "invisible hand" (which has become a caricatured generalization of his work). I even made a few new friends out of '24s from six-feet away!

    • WinterUniversity of Oxford, Magdalen College

      I spent my winter term at Oxford studying economics and politics at the beautiful Magdalen College.

    • SpringOn Campus

      I can't believe it's senior spring already! This spring, I'm finishing my thesis and taking classes on creative writing for fiction, costume design, and the economics of gender and family. Be sure to say hello if you're on campus (or Zoom)!

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Dorm Aesthetic 101

Possibly one of the most exciting parts about first arriving on campus: decorating your dorm room!

While a dorm aesthetic may seem superfluous in contrast to everything else you need to accomplish when you first arrive on campus, it's important not to overlook turning your dorm into your dorm.

As the one space on campus that is uniquely mine (and my roommate's!), my dorm is where I like to coccoon myself from the outside world, and it would be far more difficult to actually feel coccooned if I was surrounded by blank walls. 

So here's my guide to aesthetic dorming (and some practical tips too):

  1. No. 1

    Turn your dorm wall into your offline Instagram

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    Photos are super easy and light to pack. They're also the best way to transport yourself back home without paying for a flight ticket.

  2. No. 2

    Add personal flair

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    I like to save letters, cards, and envelopes from friends and hang them up. It's always nice to be surrounded by your friends, even if they're not physically there.

  3. No. 3

    Pack a meaningful gift from home

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    A friend gave me this pencil case before I left. I use it everyday!

  4. No. 4

    DIY it!

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    One of the O-Week (orientation week) activites I attended was the DIY dorm decor event. I met one of my best friends there, and I made this pretty cool wall decor of New Hampshire.

  5. No. 5

    Command strips are your best friends

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    Command strips and hooks are my solution to all things dorm-related -- they're great for hanging up keys, towels, etc., but they also come in handy for less obvious life hacks. For example, I use them to hold up binder clips to hang my syllabi on my desk wall, and I've even used a command strip to paste my desk lamp to the wall (do not underestimate the power of vertical space).

  6. No. 6

    Plan your closet

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    One logistic you don't usually think about when you move in is moving out. I love clothes, but don't overpack because you'll eventually end up cycling through the same set of your favorite outfits and ignoring the rest. I find that packing between 2-5 of each type of clothing item and occassion works for me (five casual shirts, three dressy shirts, two jackets, etc.). 

    I fit all the clothes I need into about half of my closet space, and that's been more than enough to get me through my first year! (Especially if you like to online shop, because you'll accumulate more.)

Posted 08/12/2018 at 9:30 PMAll List Posts