machu picchu overlook

Colleen O'Connor

Class of 2019
colleen holding a pennant

About 

Hi! I'm Colleen! So far, I've studied abroad in China and Peru, interned at a start-up in Mexico City, worked in Beijing, China, and completed non-profit consulting projects in Peru and Japan with the Tuck School of Business. I'm currently working on a two-year project to promote female empowerment through entrepreneurship in South America and East Asia. When I'm not traveling, you can find me advising the DEN, exploring the Upper Valley, or debating the outcome of The Bachelor with friends.

Academic Program 

Asian & Middle Eastern Studies Modified with Economics Major; Human-Centered Design Minor

Favorite Thing Right Now 

"How I Built This" Podcasts from NPR

Hometown 

Buffalo, NY

Pronouns 

She/Her

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Colleen's D-Plan

What's a D-Plan?

    • FallHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: INTS 80.01: The Wealth and Violence of Nations

      As a freshman, I chose to take an upper-level seminar class that ended up becoming one of my favorite classes at Dartmouth -- and Prof. Clark has become my mentor and research advisor!

    • WinterHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: Spanish 9: Culture and Conversation

      Compared to my high school foreign language classes that focused on grammar, I LOVED that this course focused on discussing movies, reading novels, and engaging in stimulating debates--all in Spanish!

    • SpringHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: SOCY 49: Religion and the Political Economy

      A seven-person seminar class with my favorite professor (Prof. Clark) discussing the impact of religion on politics and economics... I don't think I could have possibly asked for more.

    • SummerBeijing, China - Chinese FSP

      Studying abroad in Beijing, China my freshman summer was the best decision I could have made at the time. After a year of intensive language studies at Dartmouth, I was immersed in Chinese language and culture at Beijing Normal University.

    • FallCusco, Peru - Spanish LSA+

      I LOVED living with a host family in Cusco, Peru and taking classes with Peruvian profs during my Spanish LSA+. My friends and I took experiential learning to the next level by traveling to Machu Picchu, the Amazon, Lima, Lake Titicaca, and more!

    • WinterHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: ENGS 12: Design Thinking

      This was the class that made me realize my passion for Human-Centered Design. The project-based course challenged me to think differently and it changed the way I approached problem- solving on a daily basis!

    • SpringMexico City, Mexico - Internship Abroad

      Thanks to full funding from the DEN, I spent the spring of 2017 completing a 10-week fellowship with LocalAventura, a travel, tech start-up in Mexico City. This meaningful, hands-on experience re-ignited my passion for entrepreneurship!

    • SummerHanover, NH and Lima, Peru - Paganucci Fellowship

      I was able to petition to take Sophomore Summer "off" to work full-time as a Paganucci Fellow with the Tuck School of Business. I spent the summer working with a small team on a social entrepreneurship consulting project with a non-profit in Peru.

    • FallHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: SPEE 20: Public Speaking

      This class has a waitlist of over 40 people, and it's clear to see why. Prof. Compton teaches public speaking with an experiential learning approach, allowing me and my peers to improve through practice.

    • WinterHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: Econ 77: Social Entrepreneurship

      This course combined the study of social entrepreneurship and its manifestations with hands-on practice of creating our own social venture business plans and ventures pitches! My project group and I created a business that aims to support impoverished, indigenous women in Cusco, Peru and are currently working with our professor to turn this idea into a self-sustaining social business.

    • SpringHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: ENGS 15: The Senior Design Challenge

      The Senior Design Challenge might just be my favorite class I have taken at Dartmouth! At the start of the term, my partner and I were given the challenge of figuring out how to use leftover Nike materials to improve the quality of life for individuals experiencing homelessness. By having the autonomy to fully immerse ourselves in the human-centered design process, my partner and I have learned how to pivot from one idea to the next and feel a remarkable sense of pride and complete ownership over our project!

    • SummerBeijing, China & Tokyo, Japan - Internship & Research Abroad

      This summer, I am heading abroad for the sixth(!) time in three years. I'll be spending eight weeks working at a consulting firm in Beijing before continuing on to Japan to work on my Stamps Scholars research for a few weeks. Stay tuned for blogs about my adventures in Asia!

    • FallHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: CS 29/PSYCH 15: Impact Design

      Impact Design is a Social Impact Practicum, meaning that my group and I have been working to create a delightful, educational project/experience for a 14-year old autistic girl at the Hartford Autism Regional Program (HARP), our community partner. This class has allowed me to work with a team of my peers while creating something that has the power to positively impact the life of the girl for whom we are designing! Plus, the class is all about creating delight, so it has been a ~delightful~ experience so far.

    • WinterHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: Business Management & Strategy

      Business Management & Strategy (Tuck 3) is just one of a handful of business classes undergraduates can take with professors from the Tuck School of Business. As an aspiring businesswoman with a deep interest in management and entrepreneurship, I LOVE the case-study model of this class and appreciate our professor's cold-call methodology that ensures everyone in the class is actively participating and paying attention. In addition to class readings, we've even had Skype calls with CEOs of some of the companies we have discussed in class.

Colleen & SDC 2019 team

Senior Design Challenge: Take Two!!

 I LOVE Human-Centered Design. Throughout my time here at Dartmouth, this love has manifested through a variety of experiential learning-based classes, classes that usually entail working with community organizations and collaborating with my peers.
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Posted 03/28/2019 at 12:30 PMAll Photo Posts
Impact Design group with Colleen
Colleen with her senior design challenge partner
Colleen's impact design partner
colleen's senior design challenge partner

Learning to Love Group Work

 Despite being a little apprehensive about group work prior to college, my time at Dartmouth has helped me realize just how much I have grown to love working with my peers on large, term-long projects.
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Posted 02/4/2019 at 12:30 PMAll Photo Posts

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