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.
During the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of Dartmouth students are living around the world. Without the ability to remain physically connected with one another, we've had to rethink ways to develop and maintain relationships.
In some ways, the situation has made it difficult to meet new people. Normally, I'd say that Dartmouth students form bonds through seeing each other in passing: in class, in Baker-Berry Library or at Novack Cafe, or during passing period. Now, our main option to connect is always scheduling a phone call, which can be awkward with someone you barely know. Other mainstays of the Dartmouth lifestyle (art performances, guest speakers, weekends, etc.) have also been put on hold for the time being.
Despite all this, I've also been able to find good in these past few months with our classic Dartmouth can-do spirit. For example, I've found that calls with friends have also been great for deepening relationships. On campus, I am usually very busy and spend time with others in passing, as I've said—studying together, grabbing lunch before class, doing club activities together. In other words, our time was frequently spent doing something. Now, friends and I take the time to schedule a call to actually sit down and have dedicated time together, which has resulted in very meaningful and eye-opening conversations.
The classroom has also experienced a transformation during the pandemic. All of my classes this quarter are remote but meeting synchronously, which means that we are taking class through Zoom together at a designated time. Many of my professors have gone to great lengths to achieve more communication during our class time so we can meet other students, work through problems together, and have a greater support system. My math class, for example, has weekly group assignments where we work on a few problems alone, come together to discuss our results, and then present our final answers to the professor.
In a different vein, my physics class uses breakout rooms quite frequently. The professor will give us a question to ponder over and then split us up into groups of four or five so we can verbally work through a line of reasoning (rather than him just giving the answer to us). Through these two changes alone, I've been able to meet other students and feel less isolated from my desk in Michigan. One fun benefit of this type of "e-learning" is that I am actually meeting more new people than I'd anticipated! During normal class times, these types of group activities would be done with friends I'd already had in the class, but with the randomized breakout rooms, this is no longer the case. It's actually been really fun to see all the different types of people who take the same classes.
Lastly, a major component of the Dartmouth experience is the student life that runs separate from the college and one's personal life. This involves student organizations, Greek life, academic research/competitions/etc., and more. Most, if not all, of student-led endeavors have found ways to remain connected during COVID and eagerly welcomed the challenge. Dance groups, for example, re-vamped the audition system this year to better fit the virtual and remote framework so auditions will be completely remote and done on one's own time. Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering, a club that does a lot of hands-on work in mechanical engineering, has shifted the idea of general meetings every week into meetings that are specially scheduled for speakers or important updates (so grateful for student leaders who recognize the danger of Zoom fatigue!) And lastly, pretty much all Greek organizations are having organized, virtual rush events so that interested parties can learn more about each group.
Though the past few months haven't been easy, Dartmouth has done a fantastic job at shifting online and making sure that we can all stay connected during COVID. It is times like these that I am grateful for the tight community that I get to be a part of, one where everyone is dedicated and actually interested in cultivating relationships with our fellow students. During a recent Zoom dance practice, one of the upperclassmen was talking about her main purpose in continuing with auditions, holding remote open practices, and creating a space for the '24s to join our group, and it was precisely this idea of inter-class connection, mentorship, and friendship. The friends you make at Dartmouth will be friends for life, and we would love to meet you someday!
