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 blog, I would like to share with you guys about a little weekend trip my friends and I organized during our Sophomore Summer. Let's get started!
So, this past weekend my friend and I decided to organize a get-away weekend trip half-way through Week 7—Dartmouth runs on a 10-week term academic schedule—once we all were done with our midterms. We decided to visit our friend's house up in Woodstock, Vermont, for the weekend and explore some popular places in the area.
A little picture of downtown Woodstock!
On Friday my friends and I packed up our things and set out for my friend's house once we were all done with classes. Once we arrived after a 30-minute drive, we got settled in and we decided to play a few games of poker. Afterwards, we decided to do a quick supermarket run to buy some frozen pizzas and popcorn for dinner. We ended the night eating pizza and popcorn while watching the movie 'Gladiator 2.'
On Saturday morning, my friends and I decided to take a walk around downtown and visit a local restaurant for breakfast. We ended up visiting Mon Vert Caffe which is a cozy locally-owned caffe. After a very tasty breakfast, we continued exploring the town and visited the Sugarbush Farm which is a big, family-owned maple syrup farm. At the farm, we did a self-guided tour where we learned about the process of making maple syrup and did some cheese tasting—some of my friends even ended up buying some maple syrup before leaving!
I love this park in downtown Woodstock, Vermont!
I love how pretty this bridge looked at night!
Another pretty picture at night!
Later in the day, we decided to drive up to visit the town of Hartford, Vermont, which was about a 25 minute drive from my friend's house. At Hartford, we visited a very popular swimming spot called "The Rocks" right underneath the Quechee Covered Bridge. My friends and I ended up jumping off the bridge into the water which was somewhat frightening, but incredibly fun in the end. Once we were all dried up, we finished the day by going back to my friend's house, playing a few more hands of poker, and roasting some marshmallows in his backyard.
On Sunday, our friend group decided to drive up to Burlington, Vermont, to explore the town. When we got there, we got breakfast at a very popular breakfast place called The Skinny Pancake Burlington where I got some wonderful pancakes. After eating breakfast, we walked around town for the rest of the day where we visited local souvenir shops and the Burlington Harbor Marina. In the evening, my friends and I visited Ben & Jerry's to try the popular Vermonster Ice Cream—a 20-scoop ice cream sundae.
The Vermonster!
Once the trip was over, we ended the day by driving back to our friend's house to pick up our things, tidy up the house, and head back to Hanover to prepare for our Monday classes. This was an incredibly fun and spontaneous trip which I enjoyed a lot—especially the fact that I got to share it with my friends.
This trip was exactly the kind of reset my friends and I needed halfway through our Sophomore Summer. Between the poker nights, the maple syrup tasting, the leap off a bridge, and somehow finishing a 20-scoop sundae, we packed more into one weekend than I thought possible.
However, the best part wasn't any single stop but rather simply being able to slow down and explore the outdoors, as well as visit some new towns near Hanover. I highly recommend visiting any of these towns that I mentioned—even if for a day—because you might end up making memories that will last a lifetime.
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.
Starting college is an exciting transition, but it can also come with its share of challenges. Luckily, students have access to a wide range of free mental health resources at Dartmouth, one of which is the Counseling Center.
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.
