Hello, and welcome to my corner of the woods! I'm Lauren, a '27 from Munger, Michigan. On campus, I enjoy writing sports for The Dartmouth, going on as many DOC trips as I can, and hanging out with my friends. I also love Woccoming, doing the daily NYT mini crossword, and paddling!
I took this class as part of Dartmouth's first year writing requirement. We read a pro cyclist's life narrative, discussed research papers on controversial topics in sports, and wrote our own papers on a contentious sports technology of our choice. I really enjoyed this course's emphasis on discussion, and the small class size!
This was my first class in the classics department, which was super exciting as a classical studies major! We learned about the ancient Olympics and the connections between athletics and other aspects of ancient Greek society. I loved the final project in this class, which involved creating an argument about how the ancient pentathlon was scored!
To conclude my language requirement, I took Latin 3! This class was super exciting because we began to read ancient texts and poetry. We also took a class trip to the Rauner Special Collections library so we could physically handle and read some manuscripts. And as an added bonus, Latin counts as a prerequisite for my classical studies major!
As a part of my language study abroad in Italy, I also took a class on Italian history and culture! We went on field trips to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, participated in walking tours of Rome, and watched a lot of great cinema in this class! I loved it so much that I decided to minor in Italian.
This class, in addition to being a pre-requisite for both my major and my spring study abroad, was super interesting! I loved learning about archaeology in a chronological sequence, and I feel so much more prepared for my trip to Greece after completing this class.
Since parts of New Hampshire and Vermont were in the path of totality for the recent solar eclipse, many Dartmouth students made plans to see the event. Some of my friends stayed on campus and watched on the Green or at Pine Park, where totality was around 98%. Others traveled north into the path of totality, either by getting on buses or driving themselves. I signed up for a Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) trip to watch the eclipse from a canoe!
On Monday morning, I headed down to the Ledyard Canoe Club clubhouse next to the Connecticut River to help load up canoes, life jackets, and paddles into two DOC vans with trailers. We were slightly delayed by a flat tire on one of the trailers, but after a quick repair, we were on the road! The trip leaders decided to take us to Crystal Lake in Barton, Vermont, which is about a two-hour drive from campus. Because of eclipse traffic, though, the drive took a bit longer. As we drove along the highway and the lake came into sight, everyone in my van noticed a glaring issue: the lake was almost completely frozen over. We wouldn't let that stop us, though! After a quick meeting with everyone on the trip, the leaders decided to send out one canoe to try and break the ice and clear a path to the open water.
In the meantime, eclipse glasses were distributed and everyone gathered around the shoreline to watch the early stages of the eclipse. We made a sort of charcuterie board on the trunk of one of the trip leader's cars and got to know each other. I love the social aspect of DOC trips, which bring together Dartmouth students from a variety of class years, majors, and interests. I have met some of my closest friends while hiking, paddling, and enjoying the outdoors!
My friend Adam viewing the eclipse with these specialized eclipse glasses!
Canoe on a frozen lake!
A few minutes before totality, everyone settled into their spots and trained their eyes to the sky. I watched the last eclipse, but my hometown wasn't in the path of totality, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
Nothing could have prepared me for how incredible totality would be. When my friend told me it was safe to take off my glasses and look at the eclipse, I was awestruck. The entire landscape was dark, but also unlike anything I had ever seen before. There was an eerie shadow cast over the lake and surrounding forest, and everything in the distance appeared to be two-dimensional. The birds even stopped chirping! The two-hour drive back to campus ended up taking nearly 5 hours due to southbound post-eclipse traffic. Although this was a bit annoying, I ended up getting closer to my fellow trip members. We sang along to the radio, talked about our classes and summer plans, and made plans to reunite for dinner later in the term.
I can't wait to go on more Ledyard trips as the weather gets warmer, and I'll be sure to tell you all about them
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