Hello! My name is Mario and I'm a Dartmouth '28. I am double majoring in government and economics with a concentration in international relations. I love to spend my free time swimming at the Connecticut River or skiing at the Dartmouth Skiway with friends!
German was absolutely one of my favorite courses Freshman Fall. German, like many other languages at Dartmouth, are taught in small, tight-knit classes that help students become comfortable practicing a language while receiving support from your fellow students. This course was incredibly interactive between students and the professor with activities ranging from role-playing buying a house to having improvised acted conversation mid-class. If you're looking for a class with a small group of people that's very interactive and fun, you should look no further than GERM 1!
ENGS 12 was an incredibly fun and fulfilling course during Freshman Winter. It consists on learning how the design process works when it's centered to address specific human needs. This course teaches you several new skills such as using photoshop, video editing, working with foamcore, sewing, and more. It's such a fun course to make new friends through group projects, learn new skills, and a adopt a new mindset for analyzing your ideas. Specially, it provides you with the tools to bring your craziest ideas to life!
Weapons of Mass Destruction was my favorite class during Spring Term. Throughout this class, I got a chance to learn the theories behind the use and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Specifically, I studied the origins and taboo surrounding nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Ultimately, I applied my theoretical knowledge to a prospective scenario where I evaluated the likelihood of Saudi Arabia's obtaining nuclear weapons. Incredibly fun class with lots of discussions with between the professor and the students.
Growth and its Critics was my favorite class during sophomore Fall. In this course, I studied the theories and arguments behind population growth, economic growth, pollution, and technological innovation. The class was taught by Professor Henry Clark—a brilliant and incredibly dedicated professor. I enjoyed the course's center on current political-economic issues as well as the ability of students to discuss their various points of views with the professor and other students. Incredibly insightful and fun class!
How I Decorated My Sophomore Year Residence Hall!!
Hey y'all!
I hope you guys are doing well. Today, I want to take you guys through a tour of my latest residence hall and explain the process I used to decorate it!
I will also tell you guys the most important piece I have in my room that I couldn't live without at Dartmouth. Let's get started!
This is what I see every time I open my door!
My lovely mirror at the foot of my bed!
So, this is my room!
I spent a lot of time—approximately a year—thinking about how I wanted to decorate my new room this year so you guys do not have to when it is time to decorate yours. In what follows, I will give you several tips on how to decorate your room away from home make it feel as cozy and homey as possible for your first year!
Bring items that make it your own
One of the most important things I realized about setting up my room is that I needed to bring things that made the space feel like my own. This is why I brought some of my most special items: specifically, I brought my special teddy bear my friends back home gifted me before leaving for college!
Another thing I put up this year was the name tag I had on my residence hall door during my first year. This tag is special because it reminds me of all the fond memories I made with my residence hall floormates and my friends during my first year. It also reminds me of my first year Undergraduate Advisor (UGA)—shout out Gustavo—who was a very special and helpful person as I navigated my way through my first year at college. UGAs are upperclassmen who live on the same floor as first-years to help students navigate their first year of college and mediate any problems that may arise between roommates or neighbours—you will always have support no matter what!
Other special things I brought were my small collection of colognes, the Dartmouth 'D' t-shirt I caught during my first year football homecoming game, and several small plushies to decorate my desk!
My teddy bear named 'rainbow' that my friends gave me before I left for college—my friends Alejandra and Claribel named it for me!
North Park's teddy bear holding the name tag my freshman UGA printed for me!!
I caught this shirt during my freshman year homecoming game last Fall term!
Make your living space as comfy as possible
Another piece of advice I want to give is to set up your living space in a way that is as comfortable and cozy as possible. Having a cozy room is especially helpful during winter days when the weather is gloomy and cold outside but you have a nice and comfortable space to spend a part of your day—whether it be relaxing, reading, or studying. I find it especially nice having a comfortable space whenever I am extremely sick and I have to spend prolonged periods of time in my room.
I made my room cozy and comfortable by color matching my bedding, rug, and pillows. If I had to pick one thing I loved the most for decor would be my rug. Having a soft and versatile rug is such an amazing idea because it can serve as a sitting arrangement, bedding when you have friends staying overnight, or a clean area where you can walk barefoot before bed. Other aspects I love about my room are my ottoman decorated with two throw pillows, and my standing full-size mirror!
Residence Hall Essentials
Now, I want to move away from primarily talking about room decor and I want to talk about residence hall essentials that I believe everyone should bring to college during move-in day!
If I had to choose one thing I could not live without, I believe that would be a small-sized fridge where I store drinks and late-night snack. Having a mini-fridge in is especially helpful whenever you have a late-night craving and do not want to leave your room, or you have friends over and you want to offer them a drink, or you need to store food for later. I usually keep a lot of frozen food in my room to eat at night whenever I do not feel like leaving my room and walking to Foco—short for '53 Commons, which is our main dining hall!
Another residence hall essential is an air purifier or Febreze to make your room smell good. I find having an odor spray is incredibly helpful whenever you want to make your room smell nice for yourself or whenever you have company. It helps overcome any bad smells that may enter your room whenever you have your window open or whenever you eat food in your room. I especially like to use the Febreze chai tea vanilla odor spray—I love the smell of a good chai latte!!
Other essentials include a mug to drink coffee or tea, a water kettle to warm up water which can also serve as a Brita, a fan for the hot summer days, and some plants to make your room look more alive! (Disclaimer: all my plants are fake because I don't think I could keep a plant alive in college)
This is my mini-fridge set up. I buy a lot of snacks and drinks to keep up with any late-night cravings or be a good host when I have friends over!
This is my mini-fridge and my hamper—all decorated with stickers and posters on the wall. I love my mini-fridge, especially since it has both a cooler and a freezer!
Have something you enjoy using everyday
Finally, if I had to pick one item out of all the room decorations I have, it would be my full-size mirror! I love using my mirror everyday to check my outfit and take a daily outfit picture. I enjoy using my mirror to look at myself throughout the day and check how I look. I would argue this is the item I utilize and enjoy the most throughout the day at Dartmouth.
However, this item might be different for you. You should aim to bring an item which brings you joy every time you use it and/or get a good use out of it. This may range from a tv, a futon, a videogame console or a monitor with a CPU, etc. Ultimately, it is up to you to bring what makes you enjoy college the most!
One more picture!
This is one of my daily outfit pictures—I love getting ready and then checking my fit in my mirror… It is huge!
Ultimately, I must emphasize once again that making your residence hall feel comfortable and cozy will make your time at Dartmouth 100x better. There is a sense of satisfaction, comfort, and happiness when you walk into your room and instantly feel like you have a place you can call your new home.
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Gabe Brigham '26, a psychology and sociology double major, showed me around his dorm room, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
On the final segment of The Stretch, we explored other planets, walked atop volcanoes, and went to the very bottom of the Grand Canyon (and back). Read about it here.
