Hi, and welcome to my corner of the woods! I'm Lauren, a '27 from Munger, Michigan. Outside of academics, I'm a member of the Ledyard Canoe Club, the Dartmouth Organization of Rural Students, and Dartmouth Sports Analytics. I can't wait to share stories from my final year at Dartmouth with all of you!
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 my major, was super interesting! I loved learning about archaeology through hands-on projects and lectures that felt like TED Talks.
My favorite course on my Italian LSA+ in Rome is focused on Italian literature, which we are studying in a reverse-chronological order! It has been incredibly fun to see different topics and styles evolve over time and to learn from the works of the best writers.
I’m absolutely loving this hands-on introduction to paleography, and the fact that my class meets at Rauner every day! I can’t wait to hear from our guest lecturers, too, and I’ll be sure to share those experiences on the blog. All in all, Latin 10 was a great way to get back into the language after a term away in Rome.
I signed up for this Latin class after the FDOC (first day of class), and I'm so glad I added it to my sophomore summer schedule! Our class is combined with GRK 30.08 History and Structure of the Greek Language, and it has been incredibly interesting to compare the ancient languages and learn a bit of Greek.
FallIvrea, Italy
This term, I'm interning with the Olivetti Leadership Institute in Ivrea, a small town in northern Italy.
WinterHanover, NH
For my second off-term, I'm back on campus! I'm keeping myself busy by working, spending time with friends, and working on my to-be-read list.
I signed up for this course to complete my final distributive requirement for graduation, and it has turned out to be one of my most rewarding classes! It’s been fascinating to explore a region of the world I hadn’t formally studied before. As a bonus, the lectures are incredibly engaging and I always leave class feeling like my perspective has been broadened.
SummerMunger, Michigan
This summer, I'm spending time at home working on post-graduate applications and hanging out with my family. I'm also working remotely for the Hood Museum and spending a lot of time traveling to visit Dartmouth friends across the country!
Then my Italian professors suggested something I hadn't seriously considered.
As we talked through possible topics, one idea stood out: a research project I'd completed sophomore spring in ITAL 27:03, a course on Italy's miracolo economico, the midcentury economic boom. I had studied the Olivetti typewriter company and the cultural impact of one of its most famous products, the Lettera 32. I had no idea that my final project would end up shaping the next two years of my Dartmouth experience.
In the shadow of the Olivetti company's La Serra (where I lived!), you can still buy Olivetti typewriters at a weekly local market!
Unexpectedly, that project led to an internship this past fall with the Olivetti Leadership Institute in Ivrea, the northern Italian town where the company was founded. With funding from Dartmouth's Dickey Center, I spent the term exploring Ivrea's UNESCO World Heritage Site, conducting research in the Olivetti Archives, and translating a guidebook to the city from Italian to English.
"La Serra" is a great example of the quirky architecture that characterized Olivetti.
I found typewriters everywhere I went during my time in Ivrea!
Somewhere between my time in the archives and my walks through Ivrea, I realized I was more interested in the ideas behind the typewriters than the products themselves. Adriano Olivetti, the company's former CEO, believed that businesses could improve the lives of the people around them. Living in one of the buildings he commissioned and spending my days researching his ideas made me realize this was a story I could contribute to.
Looking back, it's almost funny how naturally all of this came together.
The first piece fell into place during the summer of my first year at Dartmouth, when I participated in the FIRE (Full Immersion Rome Experience) study abroad program and fell in love with the Italian language. That curiosity led to more classes, which led to a class project, which led to an internship, which eventually led to a thesis proposal. Along the way, my professors helped me recognize connections between experiences and encouraged me to dive deeper into every topic that caught my attention.
I had to dig deep into the archives to find this photo of some of my cohort with our professor on the FIRE program, way back in 2024!
Now, the same professor who selected me for FIRE and taught me my first words of Italian will be my thesis advisor.
So here I am, the summer before senior year, tracking down sources for a thesis I never imagined proposing. I'm grateful I kept saying yes to opportunities that sparked my curiosity, even when I had no idea where they'd lead. I can't wait to see where this final year takes me!
One of the first Dartmouth terms you'll hear is the "D-Plan." It might sound confusing at first, but don't worry—read on to learn what it is and how it works!
