Hello, Eda here: full-time learner, part-time writer, and pretty much a happy amateur at everything else. My hobbies include reading, discovering new movies, and looking at the pictures of my cat. On campus, you can find me peer supporting for the Mental Health Union and SAPA, writing for Spare Rib, doing research in psychology, or listening to Turkish & English alt-rock. Feel free to ask me about taking a gap year, transitioning to a new cultural space, or college in general!
This class discusses the concepts of sex and gender in the broader context of issues related to race, class, national identity, and more. I loved this class because it helped me better understand how systemic inequality affects individual lives and made me think about ways to change it. Professor A'Ness is such an inspiring prof!
In this first-year writing seminar, we discussed how avant-garde movements from futurism to punk rock have constituted a rebellion against the status quo. I loved all the readings for this class and Professor McCann inspired me to take more courses in the English department!
In this course, we learned all the basics of fiction: character, plot, setting, etc. My favorite parts of the course were receiving feedback from other students, reading my peers' work, and having fiction readings as assigned course work! I also appreciated all the guest speakers we had, who were experienced writers in their respective genres.
As an aspiring clinical psychologist, this course has been one of the best classes I have taken at Dartmouth so far. The class focused on the etiology, diagnosis, characteristics and treatment of various mental disorders. Professor Hudenko has been one of the greatest lectures I had the pleasure of meeting. As a clinical psychologist himself, he had extensive knowledge in not only the theory, but also the practice of clinical psychology. He also succeeded in making a lecture-based class feel interactive and dynamic.
We covered the complex neural and biological mechanisms of multiple mental health disorders ranging from common conditions like anxiety to more complicated illnesses such as schizophrenia. In addition to reading about the cutting-edge research in this area, we also read memoirs and watched documentaries about the mental illnesses to focus on how these conditions are affecting people in real life. Professor Funnell is one of the best profs I had!
As an aspiring clinical psychologist, this has been one of my favorite classes at Dartmouth. We learned about different therapy methods, how and when to use them, their advantages, and shortcomings. The class was incredibly engaging with Professor Hudenko's frequent demonstrations of methods, therapy videos, and guest speakers. I would recommend this class to every psychology major.
I worked at Dimock Health Center as part of my community health internship. I was part of a team of summer interns who were college students like myself. We worked as patient advocates that helped people reach out to resources regarding housing, food, utilities, etc. Most of our work involved calling patients, helping them fill out forms, and researching resources. I learned so much about community health resources and how to communicate with a diverse set of patients. It was an invaluable experience!
I took classes in the School of English and Drama at Queen Mary University of London. My favorite class of the term was called London Performance Now, which involved going to different performance events in London and discussing them in class. It was the perfect opportunity to explore the cultural landscape of London.
As the title of the course suggests, this class was about food: its history, economics, and cultural practices. I learned a lot through this course thanks to guest speakers, thought-provoking readings, and engaging assignments. My favorite assignment in this course was writing about a family recipe; I learned so much about my family's history as well as the cultural conflicts in my home country. Overall, it was among the best classes I have taken at Dartmouth. Plus, we even got to eat delicious food cooked by our classmates!
There are many different forms of accommodation at Dartmouth from house communities to Greek houses, senior apartments, and Living Learning Communities. I have lived in house community dorms for my first two years on campus. This term, as I move back to Dartmouth after two terms off-campus, I decided to apply for a living learning community: Triangle House. Let me tell you more about the decision and housing at Dartmouth!
Upon enrolling at Dartmouth, all Dartmouth first-years are required to live in residence halls with fellow freshmen. Each first-year is randomly placed in a housing community, which determines which dorms you live in for the rest of your time at Dartmouth. I was assigned Allen House and lived in the Choates cluster for my freshman year. I was fond of my forming situation living in the Choates, partly because I was assigned a spacious single, but mostly because I met most of my closest friends at the Choates, like my next-door neighbor and now best friend Jamie.
In my sophomore year, I moved into Gile Hall, one of the main halls of Allen House, and the dorm with the hands-down best location on campus. I had two roommates: Tianwen and Julie, whom I met thanks to living in the Choates. We had a two-room triple, as interesting as that sounds; our two rooms were quite cozy and warm. I loved coming back to my dorm after a long day and being greeted by the best roommates anyone could ask for.
This year, I could not do the housing process as early as everyone did as I was off-campus during winter. While I initially got the short end of the stick while picking dorms, I tried to make the best of the situation by looking for alternatives. That's when I decided to apply for Triangle House, a Living Learning Community focusing on queer issues. I had friends who lived in Triangle House and had a great time. I have also been to Triangle House a few times as we used the common spaces there to host events for the intersectional feminist zine on campus, Spare Rib. It was the perfect answer to my worries!
I am excited to move into my room at Triangle House and meet new people through the community there! It seems like there will be many opportunities to do so thanks to the programming, involving events such as weekly snack nights and sunday brunches!
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
