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!
Multiple organizations on campus offer professional development opportunities while connecting you with people who share your passion in the Dartmouth community. One of such opportunities is WISP.
WISP stands for Women in Science Program. Since its inception in 1990, WISP has aimed to increase the representation of women in STEM fields by creating learning opportunities in collaborative environments, especially for first-year women. As a prospective psychology & neuroscience major, I have been trying to make the most of what WISP has to offer. Here is how I have been involved with WISP so far and what I'm looking forward to!
Peer Mentor Program
Through the peer mentoring program, first-year students are matched with upperclassmen mentors with similar academic interests who provide advice in many aspects of being a STEM student at Dartmouth: helping with course selection, finding research positions, and more. Each mentor group is part of a larger mentor family, so you have the opportunity to interact with not only your mentor but also your peers who are passionate about different STEM areas. The mentoring program also organizes social events such as ice skating on Occom Pond, movie nights and discussions, and study break events with free treats during finals week.
Winter Program
WISP winter program was developed in winter 2021 as a way for students to build technical skills and stay in touch with the scientific community at Dartmouth when most of the campus was taking online classes. It offers virtual training opportunities in commonly used research software and practices as well as documentaries and past information sessions. The training modules include the python bites workshop series, spatial data in R, GIS / spatial training, and more.
WISP Internship
Through WISP, first-year students are matched with faculty mentors in paid, part-time internships for winter and spring terms. Students search for available projects on the WISP database and request interviews from faculty members whose research they find interesting. Even though some knowledge of sciences is helpful, faculty members look for a level of engagement and curiosity rather than prior experience. After the interviews, there is a matching process: faculty mentors rank students, and students rank the labs they want to work in. I was fortunate to be offered a WISP internship in Reading Brains Lab to work with Professor Coch. Professor Coch investigates reading and reading-related processes using both behavioral and brain-based electrophysiological measures. As a literature nerd, a prospective psychology major, and an education minor, interning in the Reading Brains Lab is the opportunity that got me most excited to be studying at Dartmouth so far. For my work in the lab, I have completed the necessary training for responsible conduct of research and human research for social/behavioral studies. I am currently practicing the research protocol before we start conducting behavioral experiments on subjects again. Stay tuned!
Unlike some other universities, many of the STEM lecture classes at Dartmouth require concurrent enrollment in a laboratory section. What is it like navigating that time as a student?
