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.
I came to Dartmouth hoping for an enriching liberal arts experience, and several of my classes have delivered on that in my first year. I think this is thanks to a few key things from the Dartmouth professors who value interdisciplinary studies, focus on current pressing challenges in the world, and emphasize discussions and varied methods of learning.
In my first term at Dartmouth, Fall 2023 (23F in Dartmouth lingo) two of my classes had some fascinating overlaps: Religion and Technology and ENVS 2 Introduction to Environmental Studies (check out my post about this class!). Namely, we had a section in the religion course about the environment including an excerpt of Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring' (which came full circle and showed up in my seminar class this current spring term) and content on 'environmental jeremiads' as well. Another through line was a documentary in ENVS 2 and a reading and discussion in religion and tech about the Dakota Access Pipeline, meaning that both courses also managed to veer into Native American studies for a moment as well (something I thought was wonderful). Both of these courses were wonderful for stimulating my desire for interdisciplinary content, and I was thrilled to be able to make connections between the two courses.
I am taking my second geography course right now called Global Health and Society; this past winter I took the class Living with Nature, which is about nature-society relations. Since these course are in the same department it is less surprising that I have found overlaps, but they are still standing out to me. There has been a reading overlap as well as major analytical themes, such as political economy and political ecology frameworks. These two frameworks were not something I had encountered before taking these classes, but I would highly recommend checking them out since they conceptualize big challenges in the world in a more holisitic way, at least in terms of what might currently be actionable (i.e. working within current limits of the economy and government to make change).
I already mentioned my global health course, and some of the foundational approaches were very similar to my nature-based solutions seminar class (taught by the same professor as ENVS 2!). Both professors had the class question our preconceived notions about our mindsets with solving challenges in the given fields. In nature-based solutions, we thought about the difference between valuing nature for its physical resources (an extractive mindset) or its intrinsic value. In global health we talked about how priorities are assigned, what terminology is used, along with the colonial origins of many practices in the field. These classes provide some incredible opportunities for learning through critical thinking.
I hope you were able to get a sense of how much I have enjoyed these classes!
My first time in Chicago at the Society of Women Engineers Conference in Chicago, Illinois! Fully funded by Dartmouth, I had a great time meeting amazing companies and getting to know fellow women engineers.
Through Dartmouth's Guarini Institute for International Study, I am getting to take classes and experience life at Wellesley College, an all-women's school!
Academics can be challenging at Dartmouth. But there are lots of groups across campus here to support you through your academic journey. Read on for my experience asking for help and a few organizations that might be helpful to you!
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
