Welcome to the transition diary from a big, cold Brazilian city to a small, very cold American town! I fell in love with Dartmouth soon as I got to know the College, and the last three years have expanded my love, as there is a lot to enjoy here in the woods: majors and minors, extracurriculars and clubs, many new open doors to a curious mind like mine! Hope you all like the content!
Introduction to the amazing language of Chinese, taken with Mao Lao Shi. Really got my mornings going! I think all Dartmouth students should make the most out of their language classes, as they offer unique cultural opportunities and stick with you for life. I'm grateful for all who shared that classroom with me, and I am very happy to realize how much I have progressed in a subject so new to me.
My writing seminar, themed on Asian Conflict and Cooperation. I got to discuss a topic beyond my comfort zone, and had a blast! My classmates were really giving their best, and professor Rezvani gave us an incredible learning experience and an organized debate environment. This class opened my horizons , and I am really happy I took it, having looked forward for each class! My writing style improved greatly due to this class, which makes it all the better!
The class that first got me into CS, and eventually led to me choosing my major! I believe this class should be a requirement to graduate. Most students at Dartmouth take it already, and it figures. Great class, provides you tools you can use in whatever field you choose!
I took three Chinese classes this term, so I chose the last one to show off. This was the term I had my LSA+ experience in China! Got to travel all over, and improved my Chinese a ton. I encourage every Dartmouth student to take a language, even if you start at intermediate level, so you can go on an LSA+ or FSP experience!
A blast of a class! Discussion, great readings and a lot of amazing topics to learn. Also, Professor Joe Vignone was a bright spot on my term. A perfectly quirky man, I loved being one of two people to laugh at his jokes and his novelty t-shirts. He is also superbly smart and got me interested on a class I thought I was just taking to fulfill a graduation requirement!
Great Professor, great TAs, great class. I didn't think I'd like this class: it is infamous for being a lot of work. Don't get me wrong, it is, but it is work you do with a smile on your face. The teaching team is great, there is a lot of awesome material to cover and it's great to have some smartphone programming ability. Greatly recommend to CS majors!
Professor XD Yang is one of the faculty teaching this incredible course. Generally, CS classes focus on programming and Math; it was great to spend some time just designing, and thinking about the why, not the how. I recommend this class to all curious minds who are willing to come up with some creative ideas!
Full disclosure: I picked this course for the distributive requirement, SCI. And yet, I fell in love with it! Professor Osterberg gave us not only an incredible overview of the world we inhabit and of the life upon it, but also perspectives on the future of humanity.
I will just go and say it: Professor Tine is my favorite. She is so nice, and has such a strong didactic structure, that I would trust her to teach me anything, and so should you if you ever come across one of her courses. I know a lot more about humanity, development, and even about myself now.
My high school graduating class had 140 students – the largest in my school's history! By most metrics, this was a tiny class. However, to me, it was enormous. I don't think I ever had a real conversation with everyone! Sure, I knew their names, but that is hardly an accomplishment.
It is likely that your first experience at Dartmouth will have roughly that many people; a Trips section is around one hundred freshmen + the upperclassmen organizers. You will soon realize how many amazing people that is. Endless conversations, introduction after introduction. I doubt you'll feel like you know everyone by the time you move on to orientation!
However, come orientation, you'll realize a strange phenomenon. When you go out for lunch, you'll often find yourself hailing people who you don't even quite remember meeting. Maybe you'll even sit down with those people for a meal and have a great conversation, as if you were old friends. Of course, you will soon form your own friend group. However, this sense of community cast upon you from the very first experience you have at Dartmouth will make sure that the campus never feels empty.
At the same time, the campus never feels monotonous. First and foremost, the D-Plan makes sure that people are always cycling in and out of campus. As some leave, some come in, refreshing the pool of friends you can make. Second, there are plenty of social groups you can join to make new friends, most of them centered around a skill, but not all. A musician? Join Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, Dartmouth Chamber Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Barbary Coast or Marching Band (Please! No skill necessary!). Maybe you're a singer, and you can look into Gospel Choir or acapella groups. Athletes have club sports, and there are plenty of opportunities in theater, journalism, research… Greek Life (fraternities and sororities) are also a good pick after your freshman year, if you find one that fits you. Getting selected to a Greek space means the people who inhabit it liked you and identified with you, so they are probably great candidates for friends!
As you can see, Dartmouth is a great mix of small enough that you'll always come across friendly faces and large enough it never gets boring. It's all about how you want to live your own experience.
I am officially halfway done with my Dartmouth experience! In this post, I reflect on the original reasons I chose to come to Dartmouth, and whether or not my experience has lived up to my expectations.
Instead of reflecting on what made me choose Dartmouth then, I want to elaborate on what makes me choose Dartmouth every single day I spend on this campus.
