Hi everyone! I'm Julia from Seattle, WA. Reading this blog during my junior and senior years of high school helped me to envision myself on this campus, so this all feels very full-circle. I'm studying QSS, Education, French, and Religion (I know, it's a lot at the moment!). I love cooking/food, watching old Modern Family episodes (my favorite character is Mitch), and finding cozy places to study on campus. Talk to you soon!
This class served as a great introduction to the Quantitative Social Science department. My favorite part of class was working with real-world data in our problem sets each week. I also adored my professor, Elsa Voytas. It was her first term as a professor here, and she was constantly eager to answer any questions you might have. I'm really looking forward to taking more QSS classes in the future!
I loved this class and especially my professor, Michele Tine. My favorite part of the course was watching the "Up!" documentary series as a class. The episodes began with a cohort of children at age 7, and has continued to follow them throughout their adulthood. We got to analyze the children's decisions and lifestyles in the context of what we were learning about, culminating with a paper highlighting one of the cohort members.
Paris and Literature and Film was the last part of my first-year writing experience. Professor Kane did a great job of bringing a variety of sources into our classroom discussions (books, movies, articles, etc.) which made the course very engaging. Plus, it was so much fun to learn about France before visiting in 25W!
Data Visualization was one of the best classes I've taken at Dartmouth so far. Professor Cooper was very engaging, and I learned that I really LOVE making data meaningful and accessible. I'm even taking Professor Cooper's Advanced Data Visualization in the winter to continue building on my skills.
Winterim—describing the six-week break between fall and winter quarters at Dartmouth—seemed intimidating to me as I was applying to colleges. Not only was the break longer than most other schools, it also fell at a different time. How was I going to fill such a long vacation without having my high school friends around?
After experiencing two winterims myself, I finally feel qualified to give some advice. The short story is that winterim doesn't have to be a scary thing; instead, it can be a period of reflection and growth before the next quarter.
My first piece of advice is to find a structured program to participate in. One of my friends, Juliet, interned with an organization near her home with funding from the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact. Another friend, Flora, participated in the TuckLAB winter program, learning key business skills for future careers. I decided to spend a week completing a Wilderness First Responder course up near Moosilauke Ravine Lodge (an entire blog post dedicated to my time taking my WFR class coming soon!). Regardless of what you want to spend your time doing—be it practicing rescues in the freezing cold or working on professional development—find something structured that you'll find fun and enjoyable!
Since I was back on campus for WFR, I finally got to see the Christmas tree in the middle of the Green!
My second piece of advice is to stay connected to your Dartmouth friends! Although hometown friends might still be in classes, nearly everyone at Dartmouth is in the same boat! This winterim, I scheduled weekly calls with my friends, FaceTimed while finishing trashy TV shows, and even drove three hours to Portland to visit two of my best friends from Dartmouth. Staying in touch can be so good for everyone's mental health.
My best friend, Addy, rolls out cookie dough during my visit in Portland!
Winterim can truly be one of the best parts of the Dartmouth quarter system. If you do some legwork—scheduling some time to see friends and finding interesting short-term programs to participate in—the six-week break can be filled with learning, relaxation, and joy.
I can't wait to celebrate Winter, so I just had to write a blog post all about it. Read on to hear about all the fun (and affordable) Winter activities at Dartmouth!
After experiencing this Dartmouth winter term, I am ready to write an ode to this cold weather! Here is what a weekend in the Hanover winter feels like.
