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.
Throughout the past term, I was enrolled in the Magnuson Center's Social Entrepreneurship Certificate Program, whose goal was to help us understand entrepreneurship and the system dynamics of current social issues. The Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth focuses on entrepreneurial thinking and entrepreneurial doing which is why they provide "co-curricular education and experiences, funding opportunities, and connection to [their] world-class alumni network." Students can participate in several different ways like getting involved with the Magnuson Student Leadership Board, enrolling in the TuckLab@Magnuson, participating in pitch workshops, and so much more! I didn't know much about the center prior to joining the Social Entrepreneurship Certificate Program, so I am really glad I was able to start getting involved this term through the certificate program.
This was the first time the program was being offered, so I found out about it via blast emails from other centers advertising the opportunity. After a short application, I was invited to participate with approximately 15 additional students. The program had eight meetings/modules where we got to learn about different frameworks that help us understand how to analyze the systems of pressing social issues such as the lack of healthcare access. Some of these meetings brought in guest speakers from businesses or professional careers doing social impact work. For instance, we had a chat with the founder of a business that focuses on reducing landfill waste by creating marketable fashion items. They were able to share with us how their business has allowed them to enter spaces that might not be otherwise influenced to reduce their waste. This chat, along with other guest speakers, helped us see the several types of ways we could solve the issues we cared about.
Moreover, throughout the course, we were also tasked to complete a group project that centered on using the frameworks we learned to tackle a topic that we were interested in. On our last day, we were asked to meet at the Hanover Inn where we presented our projects to the rest of the cohort and some invited guests. We also had our last lesson and video-chatted with a Dartmouth alum to talk about the work he is doing with palm oil in Liberia. It was incredibly interesting to hear and learn about the challenges that other groups decided to tackle. Moreover, the entire experience helped me feel empowered to continue utilizing these frameworks for other topics like immigration and higher education access.
We were fed a delicious brunch which consisted of french toast, eggs, pastries, fresh fruit, bacon, and more!
Social entrepreneurship was just a thought during my off-terms. Now, I feel more confident to try exploring this path and see what other resources Dartmouth has to offer.
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!
