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.
What do you know about psychology? Probably a lot—you're a smart kid reading People, Places, Pines after all. But yours truly knew nothing about it up to this term. And this was a problem: as I go deeper into my Computer Science major, more is asked of me in terms of designing for people. And this requires understanding people; therefore, I decided to dip my toes into the wonderful world of the mind.
And what a ride I got myself into! This class is *very* different from my usual STEM. And that's coming from someone who is no stranger to taking humanities classes. I believe professors Wheatley and Duchaine's background in psychology, and therefore in learning, truly served them in designing this online class. Every Friday we receive our lecture videos, which we can watch at our pleasure. Then, Monday we have an interview with an invited speaker, either from within Dartmouth or from another institution. These interviews dive deep into a topic related to the lectures: it might be a researcher interested in Autism as it relates to the brain's chemistry, or another who is excited to tell us about all the different research they've done all over the psychology field. Either way, it is a unique opportunity to interact with faculty, and even to learn of interesting research projects students can help with!
Then, Wednesday and Friday we have a group session. There, an undergraduate TA (Teaching Assistant) helps us review the lectures and clarifies any questions we have. We are then quizzed on the lectures. This, however, makes only part of our grade. We also complete quizzes on the book readings we do, and write reports on scientific articles we are prompted to read. It is, as you can see, a lot of work. But it is very rewarding! I feel my brain has really benefited from this class. Whenever I want to take a harsh decision, I step back and think about it rationally. I also feel more empathetic towards other people. Most importantly, I have learned effective strategies to stay on top of my studies, and they have been a life saver through this very complex fall term!
I believe my takeaway is that if you feel a class could be interesting, or help you in any way, you should go for it. It is, after all, a Liberal Arts institution: liberate yourself! Especially when you can use the NRO (non-recording option): with this magical trick, you can take a class, and it only counts towards your GPA if you get a grade at or above a threshold you set yourself! This can be used up to three times through your Dartmouth career, which accounts for around 10% of the total class a student takes. It is a great option if you feel something is a bit too far from your zone of comfort, but you don't want to miss on it.
Now, as I'm wrapping up the last days of my freshman year in college (UNBELIEVABLE), I want to share some things that I learned throughout my first year here as well.
There is no "the" thing you should be stressing over doing between your first-year and sophomore years. It's about what you need and what will bring you fulfillment.
Despite the vast ocean that separates me and my dream school, I applied to Dartmouth College as an international student from Bangkok, Thailand in the early decision round. This wasn't just a leap of faith, I assure you.
I tend to get bored of places really easily, but I have yet to run out of different rooms in the library! Here are some of my favorite study spots at Dartmouth :)
