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 want to talk about some of the activities and shenanigans that I have been up to this week during my Sophomore Summer. Let's get started!
Practicing for a Half-Marathon
This summer, I set a goal for myself to run a half-marathon by the end of Sophomore Summer and I have been going on runs as often as I can to train for it. I used to do a lot of recreational running back in high school. However, I have not been able to dedicate enough time to this hobby since I started college because I became busy with academics, extracurriculars, and other activities.
Nonetheless, I have made it a personal goal to start running again. I have been going on a run at least once every two days and I honestly could not think of a better place to do recreational running than the Upper Valley.
Hanover has a plethora of running trails including Pine Park, Mint Brook, and the outskirts of town. I usually love running in Pine Parkduring the day or going for a run down the Mint Brooktrail in the evening. The best part about running in the Upper Valley during the summer is that evenings tend to be chilly and less humid than back home in Arkansas, which makes each run much more enjoyable.
This is one of my favorite running routes which starts at the East Wheelock Residence Halls and goes alongside Lebanon Street all the way to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center!
Trailwork at Mount Cube
This week, I joined Cabin and Trailed (C&T)—a major student-run club part of the Dartmouth Outing Club—to do some trailwork at Mount Cube alongside some of my fellow 28's (part of the Dartmouth class of 2028) and Dartmouth alumni. Doing trail work with C&T can involve various activities such as clearing hiking trails, removing overhanging branches or obstacles from the road, as well as shelter maintenance and clearing ditches.
During this trip, some of my fellow Dartmouth 28's, two Dartmouth 63's (part of the class of 1963), and a Dartmouth '96 drove up to Mount Cube to demarcate the boundary between federally owned land and private property. This meant going alongside the border of Mount Cube and marking off the boundaries with paint on various trees as well as removing branches and bushes that covered the markings.
It was a tiring but fun experience. The best part was getting to talk to Dartmouth alumni who had a lot of experience in the finance and consulting industries, getting professional advice from them, and getting help connecting with other Dartmouth alumni in similar industries. This goes to show the dedication of the Dartmouth alumni network to the undergraduate students and the Dartmouth Outing Club.
This is me with one of my friends at Mount Cube!
Going on a Hike!
Something else I did this week was going on a hike by the Smith Pond Road Trailheadin Enfield, New Hampshire—a 20-minute drive from campus. This was a super fun morning hike to do on a Wednesday right before my first class of the day. I usually try to go on a hike at least once a week to clear my mind and take a break from my rigorous academic curriculum and extracurricular activities.
I especially love Dartmouth because its location makes it incredibly accessible to explore the Upper Valley—especially through the Dartmouth Outing Club(DOC). The DOC usually hosts short, student-led hikes throughout the week which are open to all undergraduate students. The DOC provides food and transportation during these hikes which make them incredibly accessible to anyone interested in attending.
The best part is that the DOC also makes sure that students of all levels of experience are able to participate by hosting beginner, intermediate, and advanced hikes for anyone interested.
This is a pretty little creek alongside the trail!
Look at this beautiful view of the pond!
Ultimately, this was a very fun and active week where I got to meet some fellow alumni while doing some trailwork and went on a fun little hike in the morning before class. I honestly believe there is no better place than Dartmouth if you want to integrate fun and random outdoor activities into your day.
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.
