Hi there! My name is Kiara Ortiz, a '24 from New York! I'm interested in studying Neuroscience along with Public Policy on the pre-health track. In my free time, I like to read sci-fi, play board games, and brag about my (supposedly) awful science puns. If you don't find me lost on the Green, I'm probably playing Werewolf or Trivia on Zoom with other '24s. Stay tuned to learn about the Dartmouth community I fell in love with and more about our virtual reality!
Academic Program
Intended major: Neuroscience; Intended minor: Public Policy
I was born and raised in New York City. Instead of a driver's license, I have four different metro cards. Instead of hiking mountains, I would trek up flights of stairs of skyscrapers. I am always called out for walking too fast as if I were in a rush to get to a place. Moral of the story, I am a city person. But, this city person decided it was time to go on her first outdoorsy trip and decided to participate in a Dartmouth tradition: Sophomore Trips, or Strips.
Hiking the AT!
Occurring right before Sophomore Summer, Strips is meant to resemble "First-Year Trips," and aims for class bonding and also an appreciation of the outdoors. Strips are accessible to all students with various trips to choose from depending on comfort level, such as camping, kayaking, climbing, and even opportunities to just explore Vermont and New Hampshire. I went on the cabin camping trip. The description said that students on this trip would sleep in one of Dartmouth's cabins and well…camp!
Story time with one of our amazing trip leaders
On our first day, all students were driven to the Dartmouth Skiway Lodge ("Sklodj") to meet the rest of their trippees and receive any gear (such as sleeping bags or frame packs) we were able to rent for free. But most importantly, we finally learned the trips dances! If you're not sure how to dance to "Everytime we Touch" by Cascada, you will definitely learn on trips. After this intense workout, we had a pizza dinner, watched a Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, went to bed, and left the next morning.
My trippees and I hiked a bit of the Appalachian Trail to get to our cabin in the middle of the woods. After settling in, we also took a visit to Holt's Ledge and managed to spot a peregrine falcon. Though our trip description was simple, our experience was anything but. We made dinner, completed day hikes, played board games, bonded, thought our cabin was haunted, took group privy trips, read bedtime stories, sang songs, and more! We joke that we "did the most'' on this trip which is why we refer to our trip as "Cabin Most."
On the last day, everyone went to Moosilauke Ravine Lodge and had an amazing dinner prepared by some Dartmouth students and alums. And of course, we had to refresh our memory and do the trips dances again, while also learning contra dancing.
Though my legs were sore, this trip only brought me good memories. It was a pleasure being Cabin Most, and I would highly recommend this experience to everyone!
While many people might associate cold, long, snowy winters with hardship, I've found that winter at Dartmouth is full of potential to be just as fun as other seasons.
In just a month, I went from a complete beginner to a proficient skier, smoothly making my way down the green and blue runs at Dartmouth Skiway. Read about my journey and how I made such rapid progress!
