Hello there, friend! My name is Love and I am a '23. Aside from being on the pre-med track, I'm currently interested in studying math and public policy. I have a penchant for old things, learning languages, and the arts. I also love personality tests, irrespective of their actual validity—in case you're curious, I'm an INFJ, Scorpio, dragon, and type 2w1.
BIOL 11.07 (Major Events in the History of Life and the Human Genome) is a very unique class. We learn topics such as oxidative phosphorylation in conjunction with evolution and paleontology. In other words, where and when did ETC come from, and how can we support our hypothesis? Though not an easy class by far, every day the material I learn amazes me with the wonder of life, which is how biology should be!
MES 7.03 (Jerusalem: Vision and Reality) was my First-Year Seminar and such an interesting class to take! We explored Jerusalem through three main viewpoints (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). The class had a bit of religion, literature, anthropology, sociology, and even geography—all things I love to study but don't necessarily have the space for with our three-class quarters. I often found myself going to office hours just to talk with my professor about questions I had outside of the reading!
COSC 10 (Problem Solving with Object-Oriented Programming) is a data structures course and the last pre-requisite for the computer science major. Though I added it as a fourth class on a whim because of COVID-19 and remote learning, it quickly became my favorite class this term because I loved the problem solving that CS has to offer. It is a difficult class but the emotional and academic rewards make it all worth it!
This was one of four classes I took during fall term and it was super interesting! We learned about healthcare systems and innovations from around 4 guest lecturers per week, and were able to do research on our own and propose a new system at the end of the term. Students came from all over campus and the course was very enlightening for me in terms of understanding how care is dispensed in the U.S. and how we can improve it.
Though this was my first "foundation" course in the Biology department and I still found it challenging, I really enjoyed learning the material and found it all super exciting! We learned about DNA replication, mRNA transcription and protein translation, genetics, and had the opportunity to do a literature review at the end of the term.
The dreaded Organic Chemistry sequence of my pre-med track came upon me faster than I thought it would, but it surprised me by being one of my favorite classes to date! I found it intellectually interesting (even though it was time-consuming), probably because I treated it like a STEM-and-logic puzzle instead of pure STEM or pure memorization. Am I great at it? Not necessarily. Do I remember everything I've learned? I'm not too sure! Am I mentally ready for Organic Chemistry 2 next term? Not at all! But I had a lot of fun doing this class and surprised even myself with how I tackled it.
I love dancing, story-telling, and learning about different cultures so I knew going into this course that I would enjoy it. Cross-listed in the theater and AAAS departments, this course let students have the privilege of working with Dance Theatre of Harlem members who were in Hanover for a summer residency. As a group, we analyzed a play ("The Purple Flower" by Marita Bonner) and transformed the text into a physical movement piece. Each student also had complete ownership of a personal final project, and I opted to do a self-choreographed dance. Overall, I loved getting the chance to work creatively in my academics this term and I also was able to broaden my perspective and knowledge of the African-American story in the process!
As a pre-med, I am constantly trying to learn more about the U.S medical system. This course was extremely engaging in all aspects, taking students through all of American history through the lens of healthcare within the span of 10 weeks. I particularly liked having a discussion session that replaced a lecture, since we were able to talk about the issues with the professor and think out loud about our readings. The course was definitely challenging and required a lot of synthesis across different time periods and topics, but I feel like I came out of it with a deeper and more profound understanding of our healthcare system and why it functions the way it does today.
WinterDetroit, MI
For my junior winter, I did an internship in clinical research! With COVID affecting so much of my college experience, this practical, in-person work internship was very important for me to not only hone my employable skills but also see what having a 8am - 5pm job looks like and how it could fit into my future.
Much like my other pre-med courses here at Dartmouth, Biochemistry was quite rigorous and fast-paced. It was certainly challenging, but I found the work extremely rewarding and I enjoyed learning about all the different mechanisms that happen inside of our bodies. Additionally, many of my friends were also in this class as well, rounding out final prerequisites for graduate school, and this fact made it all the more fun.
SummerDresden, Germany
For my junior summer, I had a research internship in Eastern Germany, working at the intersection between math, computer science, and biology! The learning curve was very steep since my project focus changed once I arrived in Europe, but I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about the content and myself. I am extremely thankful for all the support that Dartmouth has given me throughout my time here, without which I wouldn't have been able to do a 12-week European adventure!
As a pre-med student interested in health disparities, SOCY 75 was an amazing class to take! We covered numerous topics concerning how where one lives can impact their health outcomes. At the end of the course, students were also able to complete a final project of their choosing and I loved being able to tie my personal experiences into an academic course.
Throughout college, most of my science courses have been at the introductory level: one term of genetics, one term of cell structure, etc. Rarely have I had the chance to engage with something on a deeper level or connect the pre-med courses to human biology. This course was super interesting because I could finally connect everything I've learned throughout college into one cohesive course that connects to something I want to do post-Dartmouth.
It's a perfectly reasonable question to ask! With Dartmouth being one of the most selective colleges in the country, chances are you are one of few people you know coming to school here (if not the only one). We all start anew at Dartmouth and are confronted with the prospect of meeting new people and starting from scratch.
Your first friends will probably be from Trips, the pre-orientation event that the majority of freshmen go through at the beginning of their time at Dartmouth. In my opinion, Trips is a wonderful encapsulation of the Dartmouth experience, with random students thrown into a group together, traversing the wilderness. There is something extremely equalizing about Trips, as we are all roughing it and doing something that most of us haven't done before. While I am not extremely close with people in my trip, we did all get along really well and they are always friendly faces on-campus.
Once you get back from Trips, your next step is Orientation Week, where you go to lectures, open houses, and other class events to get a crash-course in what your next year at Dartmouth will look like. During this time, you will most likely go to events with your floor and UGA, who are the people you will be living freshman year. Depending on various circumstances, your floor may be your first truly "close" group of friends. My floor had weekly floor meetings and fun group events like movie nights or going to performances, movie screenings, or open lectures. We even went out as a group after the freshmen fraternity ban was over!
One of the biggest traditions that Dartmouth students take part of is the Homecoming Bonfire, when the new students walk together and are greeted by the rest of the Dartmouth community! To date, it is still one of my favorite memories of Dartmouth and where I really felt like I was starting a new chapter as I was walking with my new friends.
After Orientation Week, all the freshmen are let loose onto campus and there are no large group events like before. You will now meet your friends more sporadically, such as at club meetings, in class, or grabbing food. If you are religious or spiritual, you may find friends at religious services and student groups. Performing arts groups, such as a cappella, dance, or improv / theater also have extremely tight-knit communities. And as you take more classes and find your footing in an academic department, you will also start to find friends within your potential major or career path. Because of the D-Plan, friends at Dartmouth are always hopping in-and-out of your life so you will find that your experience on-campus is never 100% the same and you will always have the opportunity to meet new people as we are all missing friends at one point or another. Some people may love this part of the Dartmouth experience, whereas others may find it unsettling that they can't always count on having a solid and complete friend group. To remedy this, many people may think about joining a sorority or a fraternity. In your second year of college, you are allowed to rush a Greek organization and some people may find that this community is one of the most stable and accessible parts of social life on campus.
The particular beauty of Dartmouth, I think, is that you can always make a new friend even after you're not a freshman anymore. By that point at any other school, there are cliques and friends groups that have already cemented. At Dartmouth this happens a little bit less because of two main reasons.
1. Diverse interests: many people have a diverse enough set of interests that they won't spend all the time with friends from one group. For example, you may have friends from Agape (a Christian fellowship here on-campus) and a group of friends from your sorority, with you being the link between the two (usually separate) groups. Or you may be pre-med and in a dance / singing / investing group so you'll have friends to do labs with and different friends to do extracurriculars with.
2. The D-Plan: as mentioned before, the D-Plan is infamous for breaking up friend groups and longterm relationships. While it is a little inconvenient or isolating at times, the D-Plan also creates an incredibly open atmosphere where no one can necessarily have the luxury of depending on a clique to be there 100% of the time.
So there you have it! While it is extremely hard to not worry about this aspect of the college experience, that is exactly what I would recommend that you do. This post isn't any encouragement for you to find freshmen events and make it a goal to make friends there because it is difficult during other times. Many of the people that I enjoy talking to and spending time are friends I've made unexpectedly, with relationships stemming from seeing them in the library every week after class or seeing them at department open houses and starting to talk to each other because we have the same glasses. Making friends is something that you will never stop doing during your time at Dartmouth. The people here are warm, kind, and always open for a new adventure—it's the Big Green spirit! All you have to do is show up and let the college work its magic.
Planning on visiting Dartmouth as a prospective student or an interested person wanting to see our beautiful campus? In this post, I share insider tips to ensure your visit is fulfilled!
Witnessing an eclipse was one of the most exciting days in my life to date, and a solid reminder of our place in this universe. Read on to hear about it!
Coming back from Spring break usually means coming back to an entirely different campus than the one you left in the Winter – but that was not the case this year! Read on to hear more...
