

Jenny Chen

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Jenny's D-Plan
What's a D-Plan?-
FallOn Campus
Favorite Class: Sociology 001I looked forward to this class every week, partly because of the professor and partly due to the content. We read books on a wide variety of topics, ranging from privilege and how it affects our interactions with others to restaurant kitchens and the hierarchies inherent in surgical residencies.
WinterOn Campus
Favorite Class: Biology 013Biol13 is structured so that you have to work as a group on difficult class problems and even on some exams, which was novel to me and pushed me to really understand the material. This class inspired me to pursue research (both off-campus and on-campus) related to genetics.
SpringOn Campus
Favorite Class: The Body: The Nude in Western Visual ArtAlthough this class was daunting to me in the beginning, given that I had little to no experience in either Women's, Gender, and Sexuality or Art History, it was also one of the classes in which I became the most engaged in. For our final project, I investigated the history of allegories in Western art and why they were so often portrayed as women.
SummerOff Campus
I interned at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA under Dr. Livingston. I explored the mechanism by which BRCA1 acts as a tumor suppressor. It was really rewarding to be able to apply what I had learned in Biol13, including specific procedures and techniques we had been tested on, to a real-life laboratory setting.
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FallOn Campus
Favorite Class: Organic ChemistryThis class is notorious for its difficulty, and I would not call it an easy class. Nonetheless, it was my favorite class because I loved Professor Jacobi, who has taught at Dartmouth for 22 years, and I appreciated learning mechanisms behind why certain reactions happen. Instead of rote memorization, this class relied on being able to predict the products of a reaction, a skill picked up from lots of practice.
WinterOn Campus
Favorite Class: Introduction to Cultural AnthropologyAlthough this was an introductory class, Professor Craig made it more dynamic and interactive, with several visits to the Hood Museum of Art, ethnography labs, and weekly discussion posts. I learned about everything from the Gebusi culture and their rites of passage to the opioid epidemic. For my final paper, I conducted an ethnography studying the social dynamics that take place in Baker Lobby and how that relates to the exchange of capital.
SpringOn Campus
Favorite Class: Introduction to Programming and ComputationThough I had taken four years of computer science before (mostly in middle school), I did not have a very good experience with coding prior to taking CS1. However, the professor was one of the best professors I have had, explaining jargon in understandable ways and even giving out chocolate bars to students who answered the most difficult questions she would ask in class. I was certain that there was no way I would be able to create the lab assignments (such as a revolving solar system animation and map of Dartmouth that calculated the shortest possible route between two points), but she enabled all of us to through exercises, short assignments, and exams.
SummerOn Campus
Favorite Class: Sex, Gender, and SocietyI took this class for a distributive requirement and ended up loving it. Each student was assigned a day to present on a certain topic - mine being patriarchy. I decided to analyze relationships in Crazy Rich Asians through a lens of the patriarchal bargain. We explored transgender issues, the history of feminism, gender identity, and so much more. Would highly recommend!
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FallOn Campus
Favorite Class: Sports AnalyticsAs someone who didn't know the rules to pretty much any sport, I tentatively signed up for this class. However, the professors made it clear that everyone had a different sports background, so I never felt at a disadvantage. We used Markov chains to predict winners of tennis matches, analyzed field goals kicks using logit models, and listened to guest speakers from a variety of industries.
WinterOff Campus
I spent the winter at the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, studying epidemiology and global health. I was first involved on a project using data surveillance and social media to model Ebola outbreaks in the DRC, but as soon as the COVID-19 outbreak started, I transitioned to that. I was even able to publish my first paper!
SpringOff Campus
I was planning to study in Rome for the term and practice my basic Italian skills, but unfortunately the program was canceled. Instead of taking classes, I decided to continue working at my winter internship at NIH. Some of the research I conducted involved analyzing data on excess mortality as a method of estimating the true burden of COVID-19.
SummerOff Campus
I continued my research at Fogarty while also working part-time as a Learning Fellow for BIOL13 (Gene Expression and Inheritance), a job I also did my sophomore summer. It was great to see some familiar faces and help with transitioning this very interactive class into something Zoom-friendly!
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FallOn Campus
Favorite Class: Design ThinkingI had heard about this class long before taking it my senior fall, as it's one of those quintessential Dartmouth classes. We had a total of six projects over ten weeks, many of which were group projects. They included everything from building rollercoasters, creating Photoshop posters to combat harmful misconceptions, and designing prototypes to improve student dorm life. I learned so much about what it means to design ethically and purposefully, and will definitely carry these lessons forward with me in my future endeavors.

Climbing with the Dartmouth Outing Club
This was actually my first trip with the DOC, besides First-Year Trips and other events such as their semi-formal at a roller rink.

Volunteering for The Prouty
The Prouty raises funds for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the only cancer center in northern New England.

COIN, Disco, and Inflatables: What To Do on a Friday Night
Prospective students sometimes ask me what exactly there is to do on Dartmouth's campus on the weekends (besides Greek life). The truth is, so much! After finishing up my classes for the day, I first headed to dinner in town with a few friends.

A Summer Birthday Bash
Since my birthday also falls close to July 4th, there were some on-campus events, no school on a Thursday, and a weekend for my sister to visit via the Dartmouth Coach from Boston.

Old Friends, New Friends
Outdoor activities, which peak in the summer, are one of the greatest ways to make new friends in a fun way.
Two Weeks of Summer Break?
Here are a few things I did over my “summer break” before returning for school, and one thing I wished I had done:
- No. 1
Let's Go to the Beach
The only real trip I went on was to Sandy Point Beach for a day with my family. Besides sunbathing and watching my new-fangled guilty pleasure (Love Island), I started a book by Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace. I bought it last term after her public talk and did not have the time to open it until I got home for break. I’m still working on it – it’s a fascinating novel based on a true story, but rather different from The Handmaid’s Tale.
- No. 2
Homemade Smoothies
Missing Collis smoothies had me making my own smoothies at home! Collis smoothies are one of my favorite Dartmouth Dining Service (DDS) snacks/drinks because you can personalize them and select from different fruits, juices, milk, and even protein or chia additions. This summer, the Hop dining hall is closed but luckily, Collis is still open. During the summer, usually, one or the other does not open just because there are not that many students on-campus.
- No. 3
Reading
I also read Educated by Tara Westover, a recommendation from my older sister. I couldn’t believe how captivating and intense a lot of stories from her life were and I ended up finishing the book in a few hours. I was reminded of how lucky I am to have received an education from a young age, and especially continuing to do so here at Dartmouth.

Getting Ready for Sophomore Summer
Sophomore summer is a Dartmouth classic, and something that captures a lot of what makes this school special - small classes and amazing professors, a close community, and boundless opportunities to explore, in all senses of the word.

Closing Out a Year with Great Issues Scholars
GIS was one of the experiences that played a major role in influencing my freshman experience, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to give back and continue participating in the program.

Commemorating 44 Years of Teaching
Professor Jacobi, one of my favorite professors at Dartmouth, is retiring this year, after 44 years of teaching (22 of which were at Dartmouth!).

From Motors to Chloroplasts... My Week through Lab
Once a week, you have lab, which varies in length, activity, and rigor based on the specific class.