Aloha to the page of a wanderlusting writer juggling college life and several other hobbies into an eternally-short 24-hour day. I hope to shed light on the Dartmouth experience as I explore the brave new world of Hanover, NH and everything going to college here has to offer. In my free time, you can find me trying to learn a new language or building the perfect Spotify playlist (alternative/indie, anyone?). I hope you enjoy!
Taught by Gordon Henry, an Anishinaabe poet and author, this class taught me to explore Indigenous storytelling within digital contexts. I took this class with only seven other classmates, allowing us to really engage with films, comic books, and television shows in Indigenous languages or produced by Indigenous artists.
Taught by Timothy Pulju, this class taught me how to identify and understand how languages evolve over time and why. I analyzed and reconstructed fictional languages of imaginary nations in order to understand the link between language and culture, and ended up having such an appreciation for the complexity and beauty of language's place in history!
Taught by Lindsay Whaley, this class let me discover a newfound love for ancient apocalyptic literature. We analyzed ancient texts and compared them to modern apocalypses, looking at the zombie apocalypse phenomenon and other apocalypses in pop culture and comparing them to the ancient tradition of writing apocalypses. Additionally, I learned the Greek alphabet and now I can even stumble through ancient Greek passages.
FallNew Orleans, LA
Favorite Class: Native American Literature and the Law
Taught and organized by David Peterson, this class let me get into the shoes of a real linguist as we did fieldwork (virtually!!) with the Zophei language. I learned how to describe a never-before-learned language's phonology (sound system), how to characterize its grammar and words, and ultimately got to present my research to experts in the language family around the world in a workshop at the end of the term!
WinterHanover, NH
Favorite Class: Native American Literature and the Law
Taught by N. Bruce Duthu, this class taught me how Native literature can provide lens by which to evaluate, critique, and ultimately revise Federal Indian Law. During this class, I read works by Native authors like Tommy Orange and Louise Erdrich '76 alongside the opinions of definitive case opinions in American law and explained how literature can be a catalyst for Indigenous sovereignty.
Supervised by N. Bruce Duthu, I spent this off-term performing research after being awarded a Sophomore Research Scholarship to study contemporary Hawaiian cultural and linguistic revitalization. I studied 19th-century newspapers and contemporary Hawaiian texts in order to understand how Hawaiian language revitalization both past and present has advanced and continues to enable a contemporary bodied Hawaiian politic of sovereignty.
Taught by Laura McPherson, this class taught me about how languages create meaning through words. During this class, I learned how to analyze different languages' morphological processes and compare different approaches within the field as to morphological structures.
Taught by N. Bruce Duthu, this class offered me a glimpse into the lived realities of Native people in Indian Country Today. I learned about the economic, social, cultural, and historical roots for the struggles of Indigenous people today within the United States, and was able to write about the contemporary battle for Native Hawaiian visibility and Hawaiian sovereignty.
Taught by Laura McPherson, this class taught me how to engage in language documentation and how, as a linguist, we can put our skills to use to help communities seeking to document and revitalize their languages. I worked on the Satawalese language, spoken on the island of Satawal in the Federated States of Micronesia. Ultimately, my team created two dictionaries - one in English, one in Hawaiian, a website, and several materials that focused on the Satawalese tradition of wayfinding and non-instrumental ocean navigation.
Taught by Charles Eastman fellow Sunaina Kale, this class taught me about the role of sound in delineating, conceiving, and comprehending relations between people and the land in Indigenous musical traditions. Over the course of the class, we discussed Indigenous musicians, listened to music from Native peoples around the world, heard from masterful Indigenous musicians, and ultimately presented a project that creatively analyzed a song of our choice. My project focused on the song "Ask Yourself" by Foster the People, and I wrote a poem that integrated aspects of Indigenous languages and worldviews to answer questions posed by the song.
This term, I formally began the research process for my upcoming honors thesis in the Linguistics department on Hawaiian semantics! While living in Hanover, I also began working as a Senior Fellow with the Admissions department—a position I will be holding for the entirety of my last year at Dartmouth.
As I near the end of my second fall term as a Dartmouth student spent in the beautiful city of New Orleans, I've learned a lot — not just about what works for my own learning process, but what I truly want to do during my time at Dartmouth and how differently I want to (safely) spend my next time on campus.
New Orleans has been wonderful. I've logged a ton of streetcar rides, taken tons of pictures, sampled too many restaurants, and maximized city life despite COVID (I can still only imagine how much better it would be if we didn't have to DoorDash most restaurants). But while gallivanting around the city, I can safely confirm the ancient saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I truly just miss my campus.
I miss seeing this as soon as I left my dorm for class. You see these leaves, you immediately want to go do something autumnal, you know?
Being separated from my home-away-from-home in Hanover, I really started noticing the little things I took for granted — things like little spots in town, or the constant ability to go on a gorgeous hike, or just looking at the Connecticut River during a sunset. While walking postcard-worthy New Orleans streets, studded with these beautiful, old-fashioned, Southern-style houses, I found myself missing the stereotypically New England homes we'd pass on our way to Occom Pond for ice-skating. I even started to miss being soaking wet through all of my "waterproof" hiking great during my First-Year Trip (which was already made infinitely more enjoyable and bearable through the combination of fearless + inspiring trip leaders and the best trippies possible). More than anything, that sense of place that only Dartmouth can provide is a feeling that is sorely missed and I have made it my new mission to take full advantage of everything in the Upper Valley whenever I get to reincorporate her lovely air into my college life.
After speaking to so many different prospective students, a lot of people ask about what being in Hanover is like. Many of my friends come from cities and I've lived in relative suburbia for most of my life, but most recently lived in close proximity to Washington D.C. (totally a full-fledged city in its own right, don't laugh at me LA/Miami/NYC). Hanover is very different than what I was used to, but it is so important to understand the beauty of Hanover's geography in its own context. Comparisons don't work. Hanover is Hanover, and I miss it so much.
By far one of my best experiences better -- being on the water is an unbeatable feeling of tranquility and peace, literally no better way to study break
It is ridiculously easy to get caught in the academic gears of college life. We all want to join clubs, do research, get the best grades possible — that's college stuff 101. But at the end of the day, when people ask me what my favorite Dartmouth memories are, I'm always thinking about the place. Ice skating, pink sunsets, riverbanks, or canoeing? That's my highlight reel. It's shown me how much more important and fulfilling the non-academic can be, and yet how intertwined enjoying yourself can be in fostering healthy academic habits. I go outside, I can focus on my work — who knew?
Next winter, I plan on being on campus, and frankly, I cannot wait to be able to breathe the Hanover air again. During my terms on campus as a freshman, I didn't nearly take advantage of everything I needed to in order to maximize the environment's role in my college experience. Seeing my campus through my professor's virtual background is all good, but I miss studying in the shadow of Baker Library (or at least with Dartmouth's campus outside my window). In the meantime, I'll soak up as much New Orleans as I can for the time being, but I'm counting down the days. Until next time, stay safe!
Planning on visiting Dartmouth as a prospective student or an interested person wanting to see our beautiful campus? In this post, I share insider tips to ensure your visit is fulfilled!
Witnessing an eclipse was one of the most exciting days in my life to date, and a solid reminder of our place in this universe. Read on to hear about it!
It's not every day that my Intro to Chinese Culture and Understanding the Universe classes were both canceled, but the cosmos had other plans. Welcome to a rare weekday in my life with no classes!
