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'm back to writing these blogs and sharing my college experience! It's the beginning of Winter term (yay) but here is some insight on what happened in between!
On the last day of fall term, my friends and I decided to stay up and attempt to complete what is known as "Lou's Challenge." This challenge usually entails students staying up all night and heading to Lou's Diner (a great diner in Hanover) as soon as it opens. Attempting to participate in Dartmouth traditions, we stayed up all night in the spacious common room and went to FoCo (our Dining Hall) as soon as it opened! That night, we played Super Smash Bros, a long game of The Settlers of Catan, and went to visit the sunrise. It was a nice way to spend our last day on campus.
That morning, I packed up to leave and slept the whole car ride back to New York. I loved my time in Hanover, but I missed my parents, siblings, and of course, my dog! After Thanksgiving, it was time for...drum roll please...finals! Yes, finals. Traditionally, Dartmouth holds its finals period before Thanksgiving, but this year they gave students more time to safely move out of campus.
Finals at home weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be. I was thankful that all of my professors remained connected and available for last-minute questions and review sessions. After completing a research paper, an anthropology group project, and a chemistry exam, I was done for the term and began my "winterim."
"Winterim" is a combination of the words "winter" and "interim." This term describes the period between the end of the fall term to the beginning of the winter term, so late November to January. This winterim, besides spending time with my family, I worked as a program coordinator for STEMchats, a student-led non-profit aiming to shatter the barriers in the STEM fields for underrepresented students. My main project was to help coordinate with the team (and another '24!) and finalize logistics for a virtual ideation to be hosted in February. We contacted speakers, reached out to sponsors, and are now soon beginning the registration
Some cookies I baked over Winterim!
process for high school students! I also took this period of time to finish reading some books, tutor, and bake cookies!
New Year's soon came with the winter term right around the corner. This term, I will also be on campus (woo-hoo) and am beyond excited to show you what the winters in Hanover have to offer. The Winter Virtual Involvement Fair took place the weekend after our first week on an online platform! This is like a club fair, where students hop around from Zoom to Zoom to interact with new campus organizations or just stop by to say "hey!" With this fair, it finally occurred to me that I need to rebuild my structured school schedule and get used to waking up early...
Just to keep you in the loop for the course of my term, I will be taking Biology 013 (Genetic and Inheritance), Public Policy 5 (an introductory course), and my First-Year Seminar focused on politicized topics in biology. For the next few weeks, I will be planning some fun events such as a virtual murder mystery, a sledding/skiing trip, live watch parties, and more! Stay tuned!
I have written about being a student worker plenty of times in the past, but I have yet to talk about one of my favorite jobs ever: ticket selling at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
Growing up in New England and transitioning to living at Dartmouth, I'm all too familiar with the unpredictability (and beauty) of New England's weather. Let me tell you about it here!
