Hi friends and welcome to my page! I'm Emily, a '25 from a town where winter rarely comes to visit and departs after only a few days. In my spare time, I love to read fiction novels, bake cinnamon rolls, play card games, solve riddles, delve into conspiracy theories, and engage in any water activity. I'm thrilled you're here and hope you enjoy!
My fall term began with my favorite class so far at Dartmouth: Antiquity Today. In this intro-level Classics course, we analyzed our own culture through comparison. Delving into topics of violence in entertainment, philosophies of government, and attitudes about sex, we deconstructed our own cultural norms and biases through comparing them with the practices of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Embracing the spirit of the Greeks' dramatic stage was the wonderful professor, Paul Christesen. He would bring a bag of goodies and distribute them to students who asked questions as incentives for students to engage with the course material. Overall, I feel that I have learned worlds about my time as well as the past and can see the world through an enhanced sense thanks to this course.
In an introductory-level Earth Sciences class, we traveled through time studying the origin of the planet, the history of life on earth, its migration to land, as well as the mass extinctions that plagued ancient populations. A key component of this conversation was the earth’s current state, and how we are experiencing the beginning of the sixth mass extinction in earth’s history. We discussed causes of the earth’s critical state and compared carbon levels throughout time to better understand our current carbon situation. In homework assignments, we took what we learned in the classroom into the field, which was my favorite component of the course. We wrapped up the class with the coolest project: Constructing a proposal that would meet the goals set in Biden’s energy plan as practically as possible.
As a last-minute change during Dartmouth's 'add-drop' period (the two weeks where students can make scheduling adjustments), I checked this class's box on a whim. I surely was glad I did because we engaged in some of the most interesting discussions about what makes up a religion and how other frameworks, like economic systems, can overlap. Over the term, we delved into the history of capitalism, the depraved ethics behind the origin of America's capitalistic system, and the Catholic Church's role in capitalism through usury. Very engaging and applicable class to round out Freshman Spring!
What is the soul? Is it the same as the mind? What's the difference between the mind and the brain? How does the heart factor in?
I absolutely adored this class that took a stab at the big questions! Or, at least, guided us through how the ancient philosophers viewed the intangible things that make us who we are. From readings about ancient physics-which could be surprisingly accurate!-to discussions about ancient views on psychiatric disabilities, we pieced together answers and started seeing from the eyes of the great thinkers of the day!
There's nothing better than swaying to some good music with some good friends. Throw in a cabin in the woods and the DOC, and you've got the DOC formal, a dance that occurred over the weekend and had us over the moon!
But what's the DOC? And what's the DOC formal?
Far from the term for a medical professional one might hear when saying the word aloud, the D-O-C, which stands for Dartmouth Outing Club, is Dartmouth's largest club. It's comprised of multiple sub-clubs that specialize in different facets of being active in nature: ranging from hiking to paddling to climbing to biking (and more!), the DOC has it all! The more niche clubs are also super cool; for example, Dinertoure is a sub-club of another DOC sub-club like Cabin and Trail (the hiking club). The sub-sub-club, so to speak, takes students around the town close to Dartmouth to try out the diners in the area! So although it's mostly a club geared at getting people outdoors, there are also outlets for people who, say, really like breakfast (there's nothing like some good pancakes early in the morning!).
The DOC formal is all the lovely people from all these lovely sub-clubs coming together for a dance! Anddd it's held at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, a lodge that cooks dinners for students and offers cabins students can stay in overnight, all for free! The lodge is known for its amazing three-course dinner and beautiful landscape. There's a river next to the lodge, mountains for hiking or admiring from the bottom, and the stars at night are like nothing I've ever seen. Instead of the celestial bodies speckling the sky here and there, they reign supreme: I remember it seemed like the farthest distance between two stars could have been an inch at most! And some of us even saw shooting stars!
The river!
Other than the twinkling stars that lit up the night sky, there was fresh hot coco and tea inside that we sipped while playing board games, waiting for dinner to be served. Once it was, we were all fueled up and ready to dance! Swaying to some good music, with some new friends and old friends, everyone had a blast! The sense of community at Dartmouth and welcoming, friendly demeanor of its students is like no other, and I could not be happier!
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!
Homecoming—a time when current students and alumni gather to relive cherished memories and exhibit large amounts of school spirit. Find out how I spent my second Homecoming Weekend at Dartmouth!
