I'm Kennedy, a literature nerd and creative writer from the outskirts of Memphis. I'm also a senior here at Dartmouth. When I'm not working in admissions as a senior fellow, I'm a student employee at the library and a research and teaching assistant in the English department. I love music (I collect vinyl!) and analyzing teen drama TV (think Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars). I'm currently applying to law schools. I've had such a great time at Dartmouth and am excited to share that with you!
Professor McCann is my advisor, but that's not the only reason I took this class. Since it was a senior seminar with only 9 students, we got to dive deep into the fascinating material, including with Victorian-era pulp fiction books, advertisements, and psychological treatises, plus some good old fashioned canonical works like The Picture of Dorian Gray and Dracula. [Fun fact: I've read Dracula three times at Dartmouth... it's an English department favorite!]
WinterHanover, NH
This was an off term for me, but I love Hanover so much I hung around anyways! I worked for admissions and Baker-Berry Library, read a ton of J.G. Ballard, and stared out the window at the snow for an embarrassingly long amount of time. I also visited my parents in Tennessee during Christmas.
Professor Nachlis went out of his way to act as an unofficial pre-law advisor for all of us in this class, not only by introducing us to some of the most pressing issues in American government, but also by dedicating the final two weeks of class to a module called "Should you go to law school?" A question I was asking myself!
SummerHanover, NH
Another off term again, and this time I'm working full-time for admissions as a senior fellow! I'm also doing a lot of preliminary reading for my honors thesis. Anyone heard of Friedrich Kittler's Discourse Networks? Well, I'll have read it twice by the time this term is over.
Con Law with Professor Bedi was one of my favorite classes at Dartmouth. Our in-depth examination of the Constitution and landmark case law built up a "science of the Constitution" (in Prof Bedi's words). Our class of 9 students rarely agreed on anything, which was what made it so fun!
My final paper for this class was an analysis of a civil rights leader's memoir that I actually worked on back during my internship at the University Press of Mississippi! I learned so much in this class, and it was gratifying to return, now with new knowledge, to a text I had a personal relationship with.
Whether through their House, a Dartmouth-funded extracurricular trip, the Dartmouth Outing Club, or just with friends, Dartmouth students all get out of Hanover at some point during their time here. Not being from New England myself, I took every opportunity I could to explore.
Quechee Gorge... don't worry, this isn't the part where you rope swing
Near: White River Junction, the Organic Farm, Lebanon, Quechee, Woodstock, Norwich.
The smattering of small towns in the Vermont/New Hampshire region called the Upper Valley are all easily accessible, fun, and full of locally-owned businesses. Our free Advance Transit line runs to several of these nearby towns—you can check out the map here—and if you want to go a bit further out to Woodstock or Quechee, you can take a Zipcar or hitch a ride with a friend or the DOC, which sponsors regular farmer's market trips. I've had a car since my sophomore year, so I've driven myself and other Dartmouth students to Quechee to swim and rope swing at the gorge, or to see the alpacas. Honestly, I think I've visited more rope swings in my time at Dartmouth than the rest of my life combined. The area is also chock-full of hiking trails, pick-your-own-produce farms, and delicious food (shout-out to Three Tomatoes).
An alpaca farm in Quechee
Far: Mount Moosilauke, Burlington, Boston.
Moosilauke is a mountain about an hour's scenic drive from Hanover, and Dartmouth owns a lodge at the base that is run in large part by current Dartmouth students or recent graduates. Undergraduates can eat and stay at the lodge (or a nearby cabin) for free, and they do tons of events, from hiking trips up to the top of the mountain to contra dancing to Lodge Prom. The DOC runs vans to and from Mount Moosilauke frequently during their on-season. If you go on first-year trips, you'll also probably end up at the Lodge at the end of your journey (and it's really nice to sleep on a mattress after all those tarps).
My friend and I at Moosilauke for Lodge Prom -- Wes Anderson themed!
Burlington is an hour and a half drive from Hanover, and while you generally need to rent or own a car to get there, it's well worth the visit. The Vermont city boasts a beach on Lake Champlain, tons of restaurants, local artisans, and regular fairs and events.
If you're looking for an even bigger city that's easy to access from Hanover, Boston is also a great trip. The Dartmouth Coach runs to Boston multiple times a day, and the tickets to Boston are flexible on both the date and time, up to a year after you purchase them. Plus, the Coach runs directly from Dartmouth's campus! For thrifting, bars, restaurants, baseball games, concerts, and so much more, Boston is a go-to spot when you want to get out of Hanover.
A Burlington beach on Lake Champlain
Even further: Second College Grant, New York City, Montreal.
You know what NYC is, and you probably also know what Montreal is, but did you know they're both only a 3 to 4 hour drive from Hanover? Plus, the Dartmouth Coach also runs to NYC twice a day. You might get the chance to catch a musical on Broadway with your housing community, or (like many Dartmouth students) you might spend an off-term doing an internship in the city. Regardless, thanks to our reliable busses, it's easy to get there from Hanover, even without a car.
Visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston
The Second College Grant is the complete opposite of Montreal and New York City. It's a swath of sparsely populated land in the northernmost section of New Hampshire that Dartmouth owns and tends. The Outdoor Programming Office maintains several cabins in the area, and the college also practices sustainable logging there. As a result of the excellent stewardship of the area, the Grant is a pristine wilderness full of sparkling swimming holes, gas-lit cabins, mountain vistas, hiking, bushwhacking, hunting, and every kind of northeastern wildlife, from moose to leeches. But don't let the leeches put you off. It's seriously a unique and beautiful place, reserved for Dartmouth staff, faculty, students, and alumni. Some trips go up there, but many Dartmouth students don't get to visit during their time here. When I went up my junior summer on a whim, I was not disappointed by the natural beauty of the Grant.
We have easy access to protected natural land, small towns, and urban areas alike up here, which is a unique opportunity for many of us. As wonderful as Hanover is, if you want to leave for the day or week or month you can. Dartmouth is well-connected to the region around it.
I took advantage of the crisp autumnal weather and vibrant foliage to explore beyond Hanover and cross off an item on my bucket list, just in time for Halloween!
