This is a landscape image from near my home in Oklahoma.

Claire Young

Class of 2021
Claire Young '21

Bio 

Halito! Wondering how a small-town Oklahoma, Native girl ended up at Dartmouth? Well, you've come to the right place! My name is Claire, I'm a proud Chahta ohoyo (Choctaw woman), and I'm a Senior Admissions Fellow. You can find me in the library studying for History/Native American Studies courses or reading about Indigenous religions! I'm a DREAM mentor, involved in Greek Life, and an Undergraduate Advisor. I love to travel and read for pleasure. If you see me around, say hello!

Academic Program 

Religion and History double major with a modification in Native American Studies

Favorite Thing Right Now 

Solo early morning walks around Occom Pond!

Hometown 

Wright City, Oklahoma

Pronouns 

She/her

You are here

Claire's D-Plan

What's a D-Plan?

    • FallHanover

      Favorite Class: HIST/NAS 14; The Invasion of America: American Indian History Pre-Contact to 1800

      This was the first course at Dartmouth that I truly fell in love with! The content of the course, the professor (Colin Calloway-who would later become my major advisor!), and the other Native students who quickly became some of my best friends have me reminiscing on this class with the fondest of memories.

    • WinterHanover

      Favorite Class: HIST 4.01; The Crusades

      ‘The Crusades’ was my first real experience taking a European History course! It was an awesome introduction to the subject and taught me how to read and write historically from a nuanced perspective.

    • SpringHanover

      Favorite Class: HIST 7; First-Year Seminars in History-Joan of Arc

      Somewhat surprisingly, my First-Year Seminar was my favorite class of Freshman Spring. Taught by the same professor as ‘The Crusades’, ‘Joan of Arc’ was the clear historical follow-up course. Learning about an inspiring and interesting historical woman was awesome!

    • SummerWright City, Oklahoma

      I spent the Summer term after my thoroughly exhausting, and exhilarating, First-Year at home in Southeastern Oklahoma. It was a great opportunity for me to reconnect. While home, I worked for my tribal work program, enjoyed time with my family, and basked in the Oklahoma sun!

    • FallEdinburgh, Scotland

      Favorite Class: Religion FSP

      By far the most wonderful term of my Dartmouth career! While in Scotland, I studied religion and found my love for the subject. I am now a double major! This was the first time I had traveled outside of the U.S. I took advantage of this opportunity to become a global citizen and traveled to four other countries, but Scotland will always be my favorite.

    • WinterHanover

      Favorite Class: NAS 34; Native American Oral Traditional Literatures

      In the world of academia, the importance and credibility of oral history as a valid source is all too often questioned. In Indigenous communities, our stories, traditions, cultures, and histories are all tied to orality. This was a refreshing course that allowed me to step away from colonial understandings of knowledge and relish in Indigenous ways of knowing. I loved that this class, taught at our Western institution, was unapologetic in the emphasis it placed upon oral traditions.

    • SpringHanover

      Favorite Class: NAS 30.17; Trickster re: mediations

      To be completely honest, this course was meant to simply fulfill my ART distributive requirement, while also conveniently checking off another course for my NAS modification. However, it turned out to be so much more. This course introduced me to Native American Art History. We spent some days walking around and viewing the Indigenous art that is placed throughout our beautiful campus. Other times, we went to the HOOD and learned about the numerous Native artworks and artifacts housed there.

    • SummerHanover

      Favorite Class: REL 34; Christianity & Conversion in the Northern World: Vikings, Celts, & Anglo-Saxons

      After living for a term in bonnie Scotland, I was missing the wonderful nostalgic, historical, and almost mythic quality which my favorite country holds onto even today. This course, while not exclusively based in what is today Scotland, spent the majority of our class period discussing the old religions and cultures of this area.

    • FallLondon, United Kingdom

      Favorite Class: History FSP

      My second term abroad! By now you’ve probably figured out how much I love studying in other countries. The great thing about the History FSP was that I wasn’t just taking classes in London, but I was also utilizing archival resources in the British Library to complete a Native American Studies Independent Research Project too!

    • WinterHanover

      Favorite Class: REL 3.02; Indigenous Religions, HIST/NAS 81.03; Pen and Ink Witchcraft: Native American History Through Treaties, ANTH 20

      I'll just say it, Winter is not my favorite term to be on campus, but Junior Winter feels like the first term that I truly hit my stride with course load choices. I loved ALL of my classes! Maybe these classes added up because two of them were literally focused on what I want to study for the rest of my life, and the third one was a totally amazing way to fulfill a SCI distributive requirement, but also... maybe I just had a lucky term.

    • SpringWright City, Oklahoma

      My first term off after six terms on! I just let out a huge sigh of relief! I spent this term at home again in Oklahoma. I still worked remotely for the Admissions Office, but during this period I also spent a lot of time reading and writing for pleasure. Something I don’t always have time to do at Dartmouth.

    • SummerTecumseh, Oklahoma

      This Summer term, I am living with family in Tecumseh, Oklahoma and have begun my full-time job for the Dartmouth Admissions Office as a Senior Fellow. I am also doing some Native American Art curatorial work for the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma. No Zoom classes for me, but I’m still on the work from home grind!

    • FallHanover

      Favorite Class: REL 19.34; Disease and Desire in Islam

      In this course, we investigate how Muslims from the medieval to modern eras made use of poetry, art, religious and scientific literature to understand bodies, especially in terms of disease and desire. I am really excited about this course because it feels very much pertinent to this particular period of time where we are living during a pandemic and navigating love and desire through it all! Super relevant and interesting things to come in this virtual class!

Hard Goodbyes and Bittersweet Hellos

That's right! I've left my home of small-town Oklahoma and returned to our lovely Hanover. Read all about the transition right here, folks!

  1. No. 1

    Leaving Home:

    Goodbye Oklahoma!

    After saying goodbye to my family and their farm in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, I headed back to my hometown. Once home, I spent my last week packing, spending time with my family, and trying to figure out what travel would look like in the midst of a pandemic. It was hard to leave my community behind after being back home for so long, but I knew that it was time for me to leave again. One of the hardest goodbyes was with my little brother. It was especially hard for me to head back to campus while knowing that he would be starting Fall term virtually. 

  2. No. 2

    Arriving at my Second Home:

    Baker Tower

    Usually, I feel an intense sense of relief when flying into Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Airport, but this time, I felt that same sense of relief when I was leaving DFW. After wearing my mask and following social distancing procedures both on the plane and in the airports, I finally arrived outside my terminal to find a friend who was driving to campus waiting for me. While both masked up, we made the three hour drive to Hanover! This was a great chance to catch up with a friend and relax before beginning my testing process on campus! When we finally drove into Hanover, the site of Baker Tower welcomed us back to our second home. Senior year was finally beginning.

  3. No. 3

    Quarantine:

    Golf Course Walks

    After rounds of COVID-19 testing, I am now nearing the end of my second week of quarantine. Despite the solitude, just being on campus and getting to look out my window onto Wheelock Street has been phenomenal for my spirit. In this quarantine period, I've participated in a week of UGA training sessions, enjoyed picking up my meals and talking with our wonderful DDS workers, as well as reflected on the goals I have set for myself this Fall. So, while quarantine has made for a quiter than usual first week on campus, it's been a great way for me to take time for myself before beginning classes.

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Posted 09/30/2020 at 9:00 AMAll List Posts