Welcome to my page, I am a '27 from central New Hampshire! I came to Dartmouth for the liberal arts curriculum, so I plan to explore the academic disciplines before deciding what to focus on. I am currently looking at environmental science and religion. In addition to blogging, I work as an Interfaith Trip Fellow with the Tucker Center for Spiritual and Ethical Life. I enjoy mountain biking, running, skiing, singing, and drawing.
Academic Program
Intended: pre-health, anthropology, environmental studies, and religion.
This discussion and reading-based class was incredible and relevant! Content ranged from the historical impact of the printing press to AI in the workforce and transhumanism, and all of the topics were grounded in religion and some of the frameworks religion provides. I pondered on ideas from this class all the time.
I was captivated by the first class meeting of the term reading Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' and eventually chose to focus on it for my research paper at the end of the term. All of the readings captivated my attention, however, Kafka, Han's 'The Vegetarian', and Kristeva were the authors that made the biggest impression on me. The class discussions resulted in wonderful insights relevant to humanity at a macro level. My favorite aspect was our professor instructing us to focus on the ideas before picking apart the writing style.
This class made me think about the bigger picture of health in a systems focus. Ultimately this class helped me realize that there are a lot of structural health system challenges in the U.S. and around the world. I particularly liked learning about the histories and anthropological side of things. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were my favorite topic in the class because the frameworks are very limited, so some do not receive enough focus and funding.
My Spanish language study abroad was wonderful. In addition to improving my Spanish proficiency, I learned a lot about the culture and history of Spain- especially in the autonomous community (region) of Cantabria where Santander is located. My favorite class on this trip was literature, every class had a different theme relevant to the history and culture of Spain and this was explored with movies, videos, and readings that resulted in some great insights during class discussion. The homestay aspect and excursions bolstered the conversational and cultural aspects of the LSA.
This class sits at the center of the two interests that I have chosen for my modified major, anthropology and environmental studies. There are a few reasons I love this class. First and foremost, there is a SIP fieldwork aspect to it (I wrote a post about this!) which means I can experience local communities and have a tangible impact. Next, my professor has a wonderful design for the content and structure of the class. Also, I am genuinely excited to learn about the content and perspective this course utilizes by considering the many dimensions of disaster. I particularly like exploring the historical factors that turn a scenario into a disaster, and how that can be prevented.
The SIP—Social Impact Practicum—course program at Dartmouth is facilitated by DCSI (Dartmouth Center for Social Impact). DCSI connects professors and courses with local organizations with the goal of having a tangible impact on the community as part of the course outcome. This creates an awesome opportunity for students to engage with academic content while also developing the skills to interact with community partners, and this happens to be a great way to prepare for various careers. Personally, I love that there are possibilities to engage with community partners and have a beneficial impact during my college years.
This is a poster for a key event that is being hosted by my Anthropology of Disaster class that highlights the holistic nature of a SIP course.
I have taken two SIP courses so far!
24S (Spring term 2024)—'Nature-based Solutions' with the environmental studies department was also my first-year seminar, a writing requirement for all first year students. Our SIP partnership was with the CRC (Connecticut River Conservancy). The SIP aspect of the course focused around providing the CRC with a possible plan to reintegrate various specific and important mussel species back into the river, which is especially important given that mussels naturally clean the water.
24F (Fall term 2024)—'Anthropology of Disaster', which is an upper-level cultural anthropology course. The SIP aspect features various partnerships such as Vermont Emergency Management, BRAT (Black River Action Team), and the Energy Justice Clinic at Dartmouth. There are 4 different SIP groups in the class; the one I chose is focusing on culvert surveying and maintenance in Ludlow, VT. This is something I am really enjoying since I have some background experience with infrastructure, construction, and municipal government. Vermont has faced some serious flooding which has had some dire impacts in the last few years, so this project is especially relevant as it could prevent worse damage should other floods occur.
This is a photo of a culvert from one of my fieldwork experiences. A couple things stand out to me here, the fact that I get to be exposed to new communities and rural landscapes, along with the fact that I am learning surveying skills.
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
