It didn't end long ago, but it flew by so quickly! I had a really study heavy term because I took two culminating experience courses in economics (ECON 48 and 82), which are basically in-depth seminars where you produce your very own research paper at the end. I wrote about pharmaceutical innovation in emerging markets -- it was a ton of work, but I really enjoyed applying everything I've learned so far to a project of my own. 

I spent the fall in Washington D.C. interning at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. The term taught me that even when you're away, Dartmouth never really leaves you. My internship was funded by "Rocky" (the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy at Dartmouth), and I met Juliann (a fellow Dartmouth '21 who was also interning in D.C.), who would later become one of my best friends!

It was hard to choose only one image to encompass my sophomore summer. I ended up choosing the photo above because I spent so much time studying (or pretending to study but actually just tanning) by the Connecticut River. I had so much fun! Since the entire campus is basically dedicated to the sophomore class over the summer, I had the chance to really bond with my classmates and appreciate Dartmouth that much more. 

Where to even start? During my sophomore spring, I took my favorite class ever, started training for a half-marathon, met three presidential candidates, and socialized a ton! 

I spent my first off term in Salt Lake City (my beautiful hometown) working at my first internship ever! I interned at Cross Creek, a venture capital firm in Salt Lake City, and I had the chance to learn so much more about what goes on behind-the-scenes of investment decisions. During my off term, I also got to travel to Cape Town, South Africa, to represent Dartmouth as a judge at the World Debating Championships! 

It was also exceptionally nice to be back home and spend time with my parents and my dog. I'd missed them a lot.

Ahhh sophomore fall -- when you're no longer the youngest class on campus! This was the term I roomed with my best friend and took some really cool classes like Game Theory and European Society (my first college humanities class!). It was also the term where I met the bulk of my close friends today!

My very first summer on campus! I decided to shake up my D-plan and spend my freshman summer at Dartmouth taking a full courseload. I loved it. I was randomly paired with a roommate who would become one of my best friends, and I got to get super close to some members of the class above me (the '20s). I took amazing classes, went on hikes, got into the best shape of my life, and even ventured out to Boston for a couple weekends. I still get very nostalgic over this term.

The term I started blogging! I had so much fun my freshman spring. With the warmer weather, I got to eat my way around the Hanover area and even figured out my favorite drink at KAF, the coffee shop inside Baker-Berry library (to this day, it's still a concoction of half iced coffee, half iced chai). 

Winter is my favorite Dartmouth season. To be fair, I grew up in snowy weather, so I felt right at home when the first snowflakes floated down to campus. Home. If there were one word to describe my freshman winter, that's the word I'd use. Freshman winter was the first term I really started to recognize that that's what Dartmouth had become -- home. 

That magical, first Dartmouth term. I still remember that giddy feeling I got when I set foot on campus for the very first time: my first sight was a bunch of ridiculously-dressed (I later learned it's called "flair") students singing and dancing to "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada. Shortly afterward, I went on my DOC first-year trip, where I got to learn how to sail (I was a total noob, but I got the hang of it... sorta). I then took my first class in a major I knew nothing about (economics -- I ended up majoring in it) and even started some activities I'd never tried before. I also made many mistakes and got lost a lot on campus (I still do, oops), but I made a lot of great friends in the process. Sounds cheesy, but I wouldn't change a second of it.