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, is taught in small, tight-knit classes that help students become comfortable practicing a language while receiving support from their 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 of learning how the design process works when it's centered on addressing 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 really good course to make new friends through group projects, to learn new skills, and to adopt a new mindset for analyzing your ideas. Specifically, 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 taboos surrounding nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Ultimately, I applied my theoretical knowledge to a prospective scenario where I evaluated the likelihood of Saudi Arabia obtaining nuclear weapons. Incredibly fun class with lots of discussions 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 focus on current political-economic issues as well as students' abilities to discuss their points of view with the professor and other students. Incredibly insightful and fun class!
My favorite class this Winter term was an introduction to creative writing with New York Times Best Seller Author Prof. Crouch. I had an amazing time during this class. I learned so many things, such as how authors create complex characters and use various writing styles to convey different meanings. We also discussed several interesting works of fiction. The main thing I loved about this class was writing my own short story from beginning to end. I have never written a work of fiction, and doing so this term made me appreciate how much time, work, and dedication go into each book I read. Overall, amazing class!
This spring, I had the opportunity to take ECON 29, an international finance class, and I loved it. The class focused on all aspects of international relations (which I love as a government double major), including trade, the balance of payments, exchange rates, and more. It was a very technical class, but I enjoyed the content a lot. I can say that this class helps me understand what is going on every time I read a financial article in the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times!
I hope you guys are doing well. In today's post, I will be taking you along on a revised version of my 'Why Dartmouth' as I finish my 7th term here. Specifically, I want to tell you guys a little about my experience and the things that have prompted me to call Dartmouth my home. Let's get started!
The question of the year is, 'Why Dartmouth?!'
This is a question I pondered for a while as I worked through my Dartmouth application when I was in high school. All I knew about Dartmouth was its 'top-tier education' and 'tight-knit' community, which sounded very abstract to me—and I imagine it does to many of you, as well. I did not know what it meant for Dartmouth to have a strong sense of community or what a top-tier education looks like, so I wrote a very general 'Why Dartmouth' essay in my application.
However, I believe I now have a better grasp on what these two concepts look like at Dartmouth, almost two years later. I would like to share with you a new version of my 'Why Dartmouth', to help you make the abstract a little more concrete through my own experiences.
I will break this post into two parts, focusing on the two concepts I talked about above. In this post, I will focus on the 'community and sense of belonging' aspect of my sophomore year 'Why Dartmouth.' In the next post, I will share my academic experience. Let's dive in!
A Sense of Community and Belonging:
I know this answer sounds very generic, but I now realize there is more substance to it. During my time at Dartmouth, I have been able to discover many new things about myself, which have helped me find a sense of belonging in this community.
Moving to a new place can be hard—especially when you are far away from your family and the friends you have known for your entire life. It can be a struggle to connect with new people and find a sense of belonging in what feels like an unfamiliar place—something I struggled with for most of my first year. Initially, I had a hard time, as moving from friend group to friend group prevented me from feeling a sense of belonging.
However, now that I look back, I realize that I was not putting myself out there enough or making the necessary efforts to cultivate healthy and long-lasting friendships. I was simply making generic, small-talk conversations along the lines of 'what is your name,' where are you from,' and 'what is your major.' I left these conversations not knowing anything substantial about the person I had just met and whose name I would probably forget in the next 15 minutes.
It took me a long time to reconcile this fact. Yet, I was able to overcome this struggle with patience and perseverance. I started small by simply making conversation with the person sitting next to me during lecture and asking them to grab a meal together at FOCO—short for Class of 1953 Commons, which is one of our dining halls. This slowly evolved to eating together, doing homework together, going out to Fraternity and Sororityevents together, and more.
Now, I find it funny how easy it is to meet new people and make friends. You can make friends through almost any activity you participate in. For example, I met one of my close friends earlier this year during ski lessons at the Dartmouth Skiway. My friend and former ski instructor, Stephen, and I got close by spending time together and simply being ourselves.
Subsequently, through Stephen, I met three of my other close friends who I spend most of my time with now. I met them after Stephen invited me to a poker game they were hosting at one of their residence halls. While I felt a little uncomfortable walking into a room full of people I did not know, I rapidly felt welcomed, as Stephen's friends showed a lot of kindness and warmth towards me, even though we did not know each other at the time. Now, almost 6 months later, we hang out quite often, host weekly poker sessions where we chill together and talk about our week, and even went on vacation together during Spring Break to Puerto Rico!
My friend Stephen and I during one of our lessons at the Dartmouth Skiway!
My friends and I during one of our weekly poker nights at my residence hall!
Another example of how spontaneously you meet people at Dartmouth is how I met my friend Brian during Fall term my first year. Funnily enough, I was introduced to Brian by someone who did not even go to Dartmouth. Brian's twin brother, Aidan, a friend whom I met at Washington and Lee University, introduced me to him, as Brian had also been accepted to Dartmouth. Now, Brian and I are really close friends, and I find I can rely on him for advice and comfort when I need it and vice versa. It is also funny how Brian's brother, Aidan, ultimately ended up attending Dartmouth after transferring from Cornell so now we are all a group of friends together.
Ultimately, I just want to emphasize that Dartmouth is just an amazing place to find a sense of belonging through a supportive and caring community. It does take time to do this. However, I believe that if you are patient, put yourself out there, and look closely enough, you will find that you can make friends almost anywhere at Dartmouth—whether it be through class, recreational activities, or friendly introductions!
Last September, a friend and I crafted a ten-item bucket list for our final year as undergraduates. It's the end of our senior spring now. These are some of the boxes I've checked.
