Hello! My name's Griselda Chavez & I am a second-year student from Southern California. I am majoring in Economics modified with Public Policy and double minoring in Human-Centered Design and Environmental Science. At Dartmouth, I have been involved with Dartmouth's Center for Social Impact, the Rockefeller Center, the Dartmouth, and People of Color Outdoors (POCO). Stay tuned to learn more about what Dartmouth has to offer and how as a first-generation college student I have navigated college.
Academic Program
Economics Modified w/ Public Policy, Human-Centered Design, Environmental Science
Although the topic and issues were not completely new to me, I was able to learn more about why current immigration policies existed and the history behind several immigration policies. I absolutely loved the class because Professor Kim was passionate about the course, and the numerous readings we were assigned were very insightful and encouraged class discussions.
The course centers on the educational issues of public school systems and how by creating certain policies or programs we can improve schools and use them as a tool to promote social mobility and equity. The students who took the class were always very passionate to discuss and came from a variety of majors and educational backgrounds, thus enriching class discussions. Furthermore, I loved that Professor Wheelan encouraged us throughout the entire term to "think outside of the box" and inspired us to continue pushing for more change.
During the spring term, I was very confused as to what major I wanted to pursue and decided to give economics an opportunity, never expecting that I would enjoy it. Professor Petre did an amazing job of demonstrating how economics could and is used for social issues like environmentalism, minimum wage, and discrimination. Learning about the concepts and employing them was very important to me because I felt like I could learn how to best help communities.
One of the challenges of living in the Northeast is the lack of homemade foods that I would usually enjoy in Los Angeles. Living in La Casa has become a way for me to recreate the food and moments I have missed so much.
During my second year of college, homesickness kicked in and I grew to greatly dislike the food options at Dartmouth and the difficulty in cooking homemade meals. Having access to a kitchen was incredibly important to me which is why I decided to live inLa Casa during the spring. La Casa is a Living Learning Community that focuses on providing "an academic, cultural, and social immersion for students interested in studying Spanish cultures and languages." It is a house that celebrates Hispanic, Latine, Latin American, Spanish, and Luso-Brazilian cultures and languages through sponsored events, conversations, panels, etc. It is considered a "language community" and there are several other types of houses that exist for identity-based, shared interests, or first-year communities.
One of my favorite things about living in this house is the opportunity to gather every Sunday for a meal cooked by one of the residents or friends of the house. This week it was my turn to cook something, and with the help of a friend, we fed about 14 people. I made tacos de tinga de pollo which consists of shredded chicken, tomato sauce with chipotle, and onions. These tacos were actually meant to be eaten with tostadas. However, I could not find any at our local grocery store, so we made do with what we had. We also cooked a vegetarian option which replaced the chicken with portobello and oyster mushrooms. Then to ease the spiciness, we made an agua de horchata Oaxacan-style with cantaloupe and pecans.
My friend is cutting the cantaloupe into small cubes so we can add them to our agua de horchata!
We could not miss out on posting a BeReal right as we were straining our agua de horchata.
Cooking in the kitchen was a great way for me relax over the chaotic week to come. Moreover, I was able to meet several people that were invited by the residents currently living in La Casa. Lots of conversations were held throughout the night, both during and after dinner, and I felt like I was able to witness several different connections taking place. At the end of the day, I was elated to have eaten a meal that reminded me so much of home and to witness how food helped the community-building that took place.
(P.S. All of the food was covered by a weekly meal budget that Dartmouth provides us!)
These are some of the amazing spices and ingredients we have in La Casa which we are all able to use!
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!
