Julianna Thomson

​​​​​​The most important aspect of choosing classes, in my opinion, is personal interest. Each time the course catalog comes out, I go through it and write down the classes the pique my interest. I always find that if I am interested in a class, I will do better in it! Some of the classes that I’ve taken because of personal interested are: “Religion, Politics, and the Presidency” and “Narrative Journalism”.

Majors at Dartmouth typically require around 10 classes to complete. Minors range anywhere from 5-7 classes typically! Each major has a different set of requirements and classes that you must take to fulfill it. Some majors require prerequisite classes, and others, like my religion major, allow students to jump in and start taking any level of class. Some classes that I’ve taken to fulfill my major requirements are: “Ancient Egyptian Religions” and “Religion and the Rise of Capitalism”.

To fulfill Dartmouth’s liberal arts degree, all students are required to take a set of distributive requirements. These classes range from a literature requirement, to a quantitative and deductive science requirement. Distributive requirements can be fulfilled at any point during your four years as an undergrad but must be completed in order to graduate. Some classes that I’ve taken to complete the distributive requirements are: “Geovisualization” and “The Music of Today”.

Run by the Student Wellness Center, wellness check-ins offer a 45-minute block of time to sit with a staff member and talk through things that may be currently important to you. While wellness check-ins are not a substitute for therapy, they do offer a great space for students to discuss issues such as self-care practices or identity questions. Wellness check-ins are free and easy to schedule by emailing the center directly. 

This may be one of my favorite initiatives offered through the College! The therapy dog program partners with a group in Vermont to bring Winston, a Blockhead Labrador Retriever, to a house center each week. Therapy animals offer students a time to relax and unwind!

All Dartmouth students have access to counseling at Dick's House, our student health center. Counseling helps students cope with difficult problems or times by developing effective strategies and talking through what they are experiencing. Dick's House has counselors that are specifically trained to aid college students and what they are going through. Setting up an appointment is easy, you can email or call Dick's House and there is always a counselor working 24/7!

Still North is the new kid on the block and I couldn’t be more excited about having this new shop in town. Other than coffee shops, I love spending free time looking around bookstores. Still North just opened and blends these two together, offering a great selection of books to browse and buy, as well as a lovely coffee shop that serves food! There is seating in the coffee shop area, but my favourite place to hang out is the large table amongst the books. Located on a side street right off of Main Street, you have to check this place out next time you need a relaxing area to study. We love supporting local businesses!

Conveniently situated in the lobby of Baker-Berry Library, King Arthur Flour is an ever-popular option for coffee and food in-between classes. A satellite location of the main King Arthur Flour (located just across the Connecticut River in Norwich, VT), this is a great option if you need a caffeine boost because they accept our dining plan as payment. In my opinion, the best order is an iced choffee – iced coffee mixed with chocolate milk. If you’re feeling ambitious and it’s a nice day out, many students will walk over to Norwich to visit “big KAF” for an extended menu.

You can’t go wrong with Starbucks! This location is open early and stays open late and is a great option if you need coffee fast. The ability to order ahead and pick-up is my go-to if I’m running late to class. Starbucks is also a popular study spot because of their free wifi and numerous seating options.

“My process in deciding to come to Dartmouth was a little different because I was a recruited athlete. I decided earlier, with a couple of different factors playing into it. That being said, there were a lot of different schools out there that made a lot more sense on paper than Dartmouth did – they were closer to home, they were also good academic schools and I would get athletic scholarship money. However, there was something that always took me back to Dartmouth. I realized it was okay to choose this place because I love it as a whole. I came on a visit here and I immediately felt at home with the people. They were as goofy as I am! When I first visited Dartmouth, I had a list of ten questions that I made sure to ask. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted those answers to be and Dartmouth was the only school where the answers lined up with what I wanted the answers to be.

I absolutely love the physical space and being outside. It’s huge for me as a runner to have 150 miles of trail surrounding our campus. It’s “cool” to be outside here – people like studying outside in the spring and going on big outdoor trips whenever they can. This is also corny, but I think you can feel the sense of community pretty quickly here. Everyone seems to know each other when you walk around. I love that I can just say “what’s up” to people that I pass, people are happy to see each other.”

“I guess one thing I would tell a prospective student would be about the incredible relationships we have with our professors here. I had mono for almost a whole term and spent most of my time in Dick’s House. My professor came to Dick’s House to personally give me the 10 lectures that I missed and administer a quiz. He kept the class up to date with how I was feeling and when I returned to class, I got a round of applause. I think those relationships are really special.

The weird thing about Dartmouth is that everything they tell you on your admissions visit is real. As a geographer, space and place are really important to me. Space takes on a meaning and I think it’s developed by the spirit of its owner. It becomes a being itself and that must be respected. It will give to you if you give to it. That’s been very indicative of my time here. Dartmouth offers a combination of things I have never found anywhere else. The people here care and they are passionate. This place pulses around us and people care about it. Traditions here are huge, and people have felt this way and will feel this way for a long time.

There's some sort of extra spark of joy that you can find here. And I think that it expresses itself in the goofiness and the willingness of people to check in with each other. That sounds corny, but I think it is really true. I love it.”

During my sophomore fall, I was taking an introduction to neuroscience class as well as a religion class. While the neuroscience class was incredibly interesting, I found myself excited to go to my religion class. This class on the Protestant Reformation, opened my eyes to the incredibly diverse and inter-connected would of religious academia. I discovered an intersection of art, history, government, and politics, to name a few, and I was hooked. After that term, I dropped my neuroscience major and decided to pursue a study of Religion. Let’s just say I haven’t looked back! As a religion major, I have learned how, and the importance of, communicating with people who come from different background than myself, and who have different beliefs than myself.

While I’m still involved with varsity athletics, sophomore fall was a changing point in my experience as an athlete. I had just decided to step away from the basketball team – a sport that I had played almost my whole life! At the time this blog post was published, I was preparing to try-out for the track and field team. September of my sophomore year was a steep learning curve as I adjusted to a new sport, new team, and new practice schedule. It’s over two years later and I am still learning new things about track and field every day, and looking back, I was so nervous and anxious about starting something new. I would love to tell myself sophomore year self to embrace the learning process (whether that’s inside or outside of the classroom) and enjoy every moment of doing something you love!

When my first blog post was published, I was preparing to enter the rush process and join Greek life here at Dartmouth. Entering the some-what intimidating rush process, I had no idea that through my sorority I would come to meet some of my classmates, roommates, teammates, and life-long friends. My sorority has been a constant place of joy and encouragement since I joined my sophomore fall!

Jobnet is an on-campus job listing portal available to Dartmouth students. After logging in with your student ID and password, you can filter and refine your job search. You are able to search by term and department. Job listings on this portal are updated almost daily. Each job listing will include a job description, contact information and instructions on how to apply. You can apply to many of the jobs by just emailing your resume and a cover letter! Most of the jobs on Jobnet are available to all students and are paid by Dartmouth College. I found my original blogger position on Jobnet!

Many local employers will look to hire Dartmouth students during the academic year. These employers contact the Student Employment Office to post job openings. Students can opt-in to receive emails when these jobs are posted. Some opportunities include working in retail downtown Hanover, house or baby-sitting, or data-entry, to name a few. Working an off-campus job allows students to meet and interact with many different members of the Upper Valley community.

Dartmouth offers a plethora of different research opportunities. From research grants, to paid research with faculty, to outside funding, there are many different ways to make money while learning more about your field of interest. The Undergraduate Advising and Research office (known as "UGAR" for short) is a resource to help students identify research opportunities and apply to them. Many students will opt to assist a faculty member with a research project. Using an internal research database, students can locate faculty members and reach out to them about joining their team. Students may then apply for funding through UGAR! Research is a great way to make some extra money while in school (or even during an off-term!) while adding work experience to your resume!

My term studying abroad at the New College Divinity School at the University of Edinburgh was an awesome time during my college life. I attend the Religion department’s foreign study program where I took two classes taught by faculty at the University of Edinburgh and one class taught by a Dartmouth professor who accompanied our trip. With plenty of free time, I was able to explore and learn about Edinburgh and its history. I spent weekends travelling around Europe and most importantly, I was able to become familiar with living and being on my own.  

I learned a lot about myself during my time abroad. (Feel free to check out some of the blogs I wrote about being abroad here and here).If studying abroad is something you might be interested in, I would recommend putting some thought into what country you would like to be living in, and what type of program you would like to go on.

Being a varsity athlete has been one of the most challenging, tiring, exciting and most rewarding experiences of my life. As a member of the track and field team, I am surrounded by some of the most hard-working and dedicated people I have ever met. My teammates have become my best friends (and even my roommates)! We practice almost every day of the school year and have made the best memories during our times together. While we haven't had a meet yet this year, I will never forget the long bus rides to and from competitions, our daily practices and team dinners at Foco. From home meets at Leverone Field house to the Ivy League championship, the people I’ve met and the experience of being pushed athletically by the people around me has been irreplaceable.

Coming to Dartmouth, I wasn't sure I wanted to rush a sorority. Greek life is not as popular in Canada (where I am from) and I didn't know many people who had bee involved in the process. I took a jump during sophomore fall when some of my other close friends told me they were going to rush. It turned out being one of the best decisions of my college time, and I haven't looked back. I have met life long friends, the most talented and inspirational sisters, and have a network of women around the globe. 

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about why some of my sisters decided to rush. I love that many women decide to join a sorority for different reasons, and that contributes to the uniqueness and diversity of our Greek system at Dartmouth. Being a member of Greek life has introduced me to people I never would have met if I didn't rush, not only in my sorority, but across campus!