Hi everyone! My name's Daniel, and I'm a 25! I'm from Orange County, California and Seoul, South Korea. I'm hoping to major in Biomedical Engineering and Anthropology Modified with Global Health. If I'm not under my sheets watching a new Netflix series, you'll find me spending time at Still North Café or at the engineering building. I hope you learn something new about Dartmouth today!
Academic Program
Biomedical Engineering and Anthropology Modified with Global Health
This class had an emphasis on really learning the material, rather than mindless regurgitation. Every class lecture truly excited and interested me, and readings were thought-provoking, The final was also a project instead of an exam, which was very fun to complete. I could tell Prof. DeSilva was also very passionate about the class materials as well!
As a "seminar" course, we focused on enjoyable discussion-based lectures. Each and every one of Prof. Kangas' lecture topics were engaging and intriguing, constantly pushing me to think. While we had reading assignments, they weren't necessarily linked to graded discussions/quizzes, which allowed me to feel more relaxed and stress-free (I didn't need to go crazy and write notes in-class). All in all, I loved learning about Pompeii!
A classic pre-med requirement course. This class has a basic structure of problem sets, two midterms, labs, and a final. I thought the points were well-distributed and the exams were fair. I personally enjoy problem-solving, which allowed this class to be more exciting personally. I'd suggest you pick the right professor for you as each professor has a different way of teaching!
This class is taught by Prof. Shipley, a professor who teaches mainly during summer terms. It was very different from the previous anthropology courses I've taken –– we had a filmmaking component as well as a collaborative project. I enjoyed this class because the assignments had a very broad, overarching outline and allowed you to explore your interests very freely. For example, for my final project, I created a podcast that delved into the educational inequity in South Korea.
My first sociology course at Dartmouth. It goes very in-depth about the macro immigration policies in-place in America and how it relates to different immigrants' experiences. I found it intriguing because I'm an immigrant myself, and I also was able to analyze and develop a different outlook on my family's experiences as well. We had interesting projects such as immigrant interview assignment, immigration policy brief, and in-class discussions.
Another first - my first Asian Societies, Culture, and Language (ASCL) course here at Dartmouth. Essentially, through a 3-hour class block each week, you watch a Korean film that provide insights into the different aspects of South Korean culture –– from Korean independence of Japan to modern economic disparities. Very interesting discussions and minimal work: the course focuses a lot more on student learning than testing!
I know what you're thinking: no way this guy liked MATH 13 the best out of his classes. I was thinking the same going into the class, but I enjoyed the problem-solving aspects. Math was one of my favorite subjects in high school, but I didn't get a chance to take any courses here at Dartmouth until I changed to an engineering major which made MATH 13 a prerequisite. All you do is solve problems, practice, grasp concepts, and take exams. But, after a bit, you get the hang of it.
One of my favorite, favorite courses throughout my whole time at Dartmouth. If you thought you know medicine and health, think again –– evolutionary perspectives open up a completely new spectrum of thinking. Have you thought about institutionalized racism in BMI indexes? How about adolescent growth differences between women who give birth in birth centers versus hospitals? Conversations you've never thought of within the medical realm happens in this class. Highly recommend it!
ANTH 76 - Evolution of Upright Walking is a biological anthropology senior seminar. The class itself is very discussion-based, reading books/articles/literature to grasp different aspects of bipedalism. Prof. DeSilva allows you to explore areas YOU are interested in with the midterm paper and final project, and there is little emphasis on grading so you can focus on learning!
A very collaborative course –– daily discussions, guest speakers, and group data analysis assignments. I also really enjoyed the term-long ethnography project where you can choose a community to analyze. Essentially there are different frameworks and theories that can be applied to the way we talk within linguistic anthropology, and it was super interesting seeing how everything is connected to our conversations on a daily basis!
Refer to my blog post here. I'm now finally done with my pre-medical requirements and wanted to continue my recap of the whole journey!
1. CHEM 52 - Organic Chemistry I
I spoke about how organic chemistry wasn't "as" bad as I thought in CHEM 51: Organic Chemistry I. Oh boy, CHEM 52 took quite a big jump. Once again, this was an exam-based course. I think what made it difficult was the pure amount of reactions and equations we had to memorize to perform well. It was around 50-70 mechanisms/reactions we learned, and while it felt a little overwhelming, being on top of studying made it bearable! I definitely think the organic chemistry sequence felt better than what it's notorious to be, especially at Dartmouth where professors are readily available.
2. PHYS 14 - Introductory Physics II
A very, very, difficult course on my part. I'm not a physics wizz (like many others), so grasping the concepts themselves was difficult. We had interesting labs every week with supportive TA's. Prof. Caldwell held office hours 3 to 4 times a week, always ready to answer students' questions, which I thought was immensely helpful! Keep in mind, this course is for engineering majors, and pre-med students usually take PHYS 4, which is a less engineering-focused, general physics!
3. CHEM 41 - Biological Chemistry I
I thought I would not love this course after orgo, but I loved it! Prof. Kull, who has been teaching at Dartmouth for over 15 years, is a funny, witty professor that is always available to help the students. The amount of content was way less than orgo which made it manageable. At Dartmouth, biochemistry can be taken in the chemistry department as CHEM 41 but also as BIOL 40 in the biology department! You have choices in how you want to structure your D-Plan that way!
Overall, this journey was difficult but very rewarding.
Are you a boba or coffee lover? Baker-Berry Library not only has some great study spaces but even better spots to grab a sweet treat. So c'mon, let's go before the line at Novack gets too long!
Fall is in session at Dartmouth, and so are classes! Follow along to see what courses I am taking for my Sophomore Fall and how I settled on the academic path I want to pursue!
Now that I am more than a half into my Dartmouth experience, I have grown and learned about the world in ways that I would never have anticipated. How do I feel about it? Where do I hope to go next?
I'm starting my sophomore year feeling more grounded and clear about my academic and personal goals after a whirlwind first year of exploration. This fall, I'm excited for new experiences!
As my first year (and first spring) at Dartmouth had come to an end, I wanted to provide some thoughts and reflections on my classes this term. Perhaps you'll find something you'd like to take someday!
