Hi everyone! I'm Madison. I'm originally from Pasadena, California, but I also spent eight years living in Manila, Philippines, and one year in Gibraltar. At Dartmouth, I plan to double major in Film & Media Studies and ASCL (Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages). Dartmouth has already opened up so many doors for me and truly changed my life for the better, so I'm really excited to share my college journey and experiences with you all!
Academic Program
Majors in Film and Media Studies and Asian Societies, Languages, and Cultures
An introductory Chinese class for beginners that provides a foundational understanding of the language, including pinyin, proper tones, pronunciation, character writing, basic vocabulary, and sentence structures.
A dynamic, hands-on course that emphasizes empathy-driven problem solving, rapid prototyping, and collaborative innovation through team projects, energizing activities, and practical skill-building sessions.
A course that builds on the foundations of Chinese 001 and 002 by introducing more sentence structures and vocabulary, with regular weekly drills to strengthen speaking and tonal pronunciation, and a shift from traditional to simplified characters in the final three weeks.
A course that builds on introductory Chinese 1 2, and 3, following Chinese 22, and deepens previously learned material through more complex grammar, sentence structures, and expanded vocabulary.
A film theory course that builds on some prior intro experience, where you watch, analyze, discuss, and write about films across different genres while learning how to apply various theories.
A class designed to teach the fundamentals of camera operation while giving students the opportunity to experiment with different techniques and styles, culminating in the production of three original films throughout the semester.
Throughout the term, students watch and discuss a range of example documentaries while completing hands-on exercises to build their editing and production skills. In small groups, they also develop and produce an original 10-minute documentary, gaining experience with filming, storytelling, and editing from concept through completion. The course culminates in an official screening of the completed films.
What is the D-Plan? The D-Plan is Dartmouth's unique quarter-based schedule that gives students the freedom to build their own college timeline. Instead of following a traditional four-year schedule, students choose which terms they're on campus and which terms they're away, allowing them to personalize their Dartmouth experience.
Everyone's D-Plan looks different, and the way I like to think about it is that it's like a thumbprint. No two D-Plans are exactly alike because every student has the flexibility to shape their college experience around their own goals and interests.
There are four terms in each academic year because Dartmouth follows the quarter system. As a first-year student, everyone is required to be on campus for the first three terms, so you get to experience your entire first-year class together.
Starting sophomore year, though, you'll notice people beginning to rotate on and off campus. That's what makes Sophomore Summer so special. It's one of the few times when almost everyone in your class is back on campus together, and you get to experience Dartmouth in a completely different way from what it's normally like.
As you move into junior year, classmates continue rotating on and off campus, so everyone becomes a little more scattered. By senior year, though, students are back on campus for all three terms. Because of that, it's really during sophomore and junior year that you'll notice your classmates coming and going the most.
To give you a better idea of what a D-Plan can look like, I thought I'd walk you through my own.
Like every Dartmouth student, I spent my first-year fall, winter, and spring on campus taking classes.
Then, during my first off-campus term, the summer, I studied abroad in Beijing. Even though I wasn't physically at Dartmouth, that summer still counted as an on-term because I was taking classes at Beijing Normal University, and those courses counted toward my Dartmouth degree.
很可爱！
No better way to celebrate after exams than with KTV and classmates.
For sophomore fall, I was back on campus. Then, during sophomore winter, I took an off-term to intern in New York City. Through a $6,500 grant from the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact, I interned at Asian CineVision, the first and largest Asian American film festival in the United States.
New York, I love you!
After that, I returned to campus for sophomore spring and, of course, Sophomore Summer. Since Sophomore Summer also counts as an on-term, it essentially gives me another opportunity to take an off-term later on. For me, that means I'll be spending my junior fall away from campus.
Ultimately, the D-Plan is one of the ways you get to make Dartmouth your own. Whether you spend an off-term studying abroad, interning in a new city, traveling, or simply taking time for yourself, there's no single "right" way to build your D-Plan. Looking back at my own so far, I'm grateful for the flexibility it has given me to explore opportunities both on and off campus while still making Dartmouth feel like home. With junior fall and junior summer still ahead of me, there's plenty more of my D-Plan left to unfold—and I'm excited to see where it takes me!
This fall, I'm interning at AGBO, an independent entertainment studio in Los Angeles. Here's what a typical day in my life looks like, told through photos!
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Greta Richardson '26, an engineering major, showed me around her room in her off-campus apartment, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
I wrote my "Why Dartmouth?" essay a little under two years ago, and I've had a year in-between to fully experience Dartmouth: how I've grown, changed, and how Dartmouth has been a part of all of it.
