My name is Eva, and I'm a '25 Mechanical Engineering BE student from Upstate New York. My time at Dartmouth has been marked by the combination of the arts and engineering on campus and you can often find me working on a new project in either the Dartmouth Engineering Machine Shop or Visual Arts Center. In my free time, I love to work on lego sets and watch the craziest reality tv I can find!
This was a great exploratory class to take as an introduction to Dartmouth. I took it with Professor DeSilva, an extremely passionate individual who made this class incredibly engaging the whole way through! Coming into college I never would have expected my favorite class to have been about monkeys and early humans, but I discovered a deep interest in the evolution of reproduction.
Coming from a background of little chem experience, this class was challenging, but fun! I learned a ton about the foundations of chemistry and their applications in the modern world. My favorite part of this class was the lab where I got to see what I was learning in class in real life. I'll be taking a lot more chemistry in the future and I feel a lot more comfortable with the material as well as how to study effectively.
Design Thinking for Engineering was an incredible class that completely restructured the way I make decisions. With an 100% project based course load, this class develops teamwork, positive attitudes, and an eye for design. Not only did I learn a lot, but it inspired me to pick up a minor in Human Centered Design.
SummerHome
I took my off term in the summer to work at a coffee shop close to home as a Barista. Ask me about where to get the best coffee on campus!
My first art class and my favorite class yet! Under the instruction of a fantastic artist, I learned about many kinds of printing and made some incredible art to add to my portfolio. This is a great class for beginning artists and stood as a great start to my arts career at Dartmouth. The printmaking community within the arts department is incredibly supportive and full of talent.
Imagine taking an engineering project from its ideation to creation all in 10 weeks: stressful, but an awesome experience! Paired with an incredible team of interdisciplinary majors, I worked on the development of an electronic kettlebell to "gamify" the workout experience.
This was an incredible theatre workshop taught by a known August Wilson scholar. We read all of August Wilson's plays over the course of this class and engaged in meaningful discussion about their meaning and significance.
The summer theater workshop is an experiential class that brings students and current artists together to work on collaborative projects. This class allowed me to expand greatly as an artist and create meaningful connections with people who are currently pursuing theater full time.
FallCincinnati, Ohio
During my off term, I pursued an engineering internship at Johnson and Johnson in their surgical devices department.
As the ground thawed and students once again populated the Green, I was finally able to unshackle my bike from its tired chains this past weekend. After a whole 16 weeks of waiting in the snow, my bike hinted its appreciation for being used again by obnoxiously creaking beneath my weight during its spring debut. Despite these recent troubles with my bike (which were fixed promptly by my father's handy toolkit), I find my bike to be the best way to get around campus. I used it for the majority of the fall term and found myself quite amiss without it during the winter. Before I came to campus, I had a hard and long debate with my parents on whether or not it would be worth it to bring my bike with me. Where would I store it? Would I even use it? What if it gets stolen? Fear not! All your bike-related questions will be answered in this blog post! To supplement my own experience, I interviewed my good friend Samantha about her own bike usage.
Samantha and friend with Samantha's bicycle!
When I first asked Samantha, a D1 rower and casual comedian from Salt Lake, why she has a bike on campus, she simply stated, "I like to get places fast." After a term and a half of using my bike, I must say that this is clearly the main pro. Though Dartmouth prides itself on having a small and walkable campus, the 12 minute walk from my dorm to the gym can get a bit exhaustive. With my bike, I average a 5 minute commute to the other side of campus! I live in what Dartmouth students call "The River" which is the furthest dorm complex from most things on campus. If you're curious to hear more about this housing situation, I wrote my second blog post about living in French Hall!
The other main pro Samantha listed was injury prevention. As a rower, she often finds herself with minor injuries that could worsen with a large amount of steps a day. With a bike, she's able to take less force off her back and lower extremities, allowing for ease of motion and recovery.
One con that Samantha and I discussed was the lack of socialization that often comes with riding one's bike. Walking to different places on campus is a very social thing which is made difficult if you're biking to the dining hall and all your classes. Even if you do decide to hop off the seat and walk with some friends, it can feel awkward to walk the bike all the way to the next location. Because of this, it's easier to sometimes leave bikes on a bike rack and retrieve it later in order to accompany friends on a walk.
Bike racks like this are usually safe, but it's definitely a good idea to lock bikes up. During my fall term, I made the mistake of leaving my bike unlocked at the library overnight on a Friday and going back to find it stolen. Though an uncommon experience, bikes do get stolen on campus and it's important to be responsible with the transportation you bring to campus!
In terms of storing bikes over the winter, there are a variety of ways to do it. Samantha leaves her bike in the garage of a family friend, but there are various bike storage locations across campus. If you're curious about where to store your bike during the winter, Dartmouth Safety and Security can provide information on the nearest place. I know of a few friends who stored them in the basement of a dorm on campus, but I personally just left my bike outside. Aside from a few technical issues, it still works! However, I definitely do not recommend this if you have any sort of emotional attachment to your bike.
One more piece of advice about having a bike on campus is keeping the seat dry when it rains! Nothing is worse than coming to class with a wet spot on your pants! I personally have a bike seat shower cap that I place on whenever the forecast threatens a storm.
All in all, I find that bringing a bike is one of the best decisions I've made in my Dartmouth move. As Samantha says, "riding bikes is cool!"
