Welcome to the woods! My name is Matt Catrambone and I'm super excited to be joining the People, Places, Pines team as a new blogger. As of now, I am majoring in biology and quantitative social science (QSS), but who knows where I will end up! I will be sharing my journey as I try out classes, activities and research opportunities in various departments. Outside of the classroom, I like to listen to music, hike, ski and explore the surrounding area with my friends. Nice to meet you all!
Coming in with very little programming experience, I was pleasantly surprised by the beginner-friendly nature of this course. Although a very fast-paced course, CS1 gave me the academic confidence I needed my freshman fall. I was able to code games, maps and drawings all in 10 weeks, always surrounded by help from Vasanta (our lovely professor) and over 20 teaching assistants. I also made some close friends through the course, so I would highly, highly recommend it to anyone.
This has been my favorite class at Dartmouth thus far. Co-taught by a married couple, the introductory course fostered a challenging, yet welcoming environment for mainly first-year students. After learning about basics in epidemiology, immunology, microbiology and statistics, we dedicated entire lectures to specifically learn about over ten infectious diseases. I particularly enjoyed understanding treatment methods (vaccine, drug discovery, prevention) from both the scientific and epidemiological points-of-view, and the connections we made to current events. Now, I can confidently contribute to conversations about topics I used to be intimidated of.
A field that is often dominated by buzzwords and fear-mongering headlines, global health is a fascinating field that I was initially hesitant to engage with. And I'm so happy I did. Anne Sosin as a lovely professor who prioritized engagement and curiosity. Through weekly discussion posts, diverse sets of readings, three papers and a case study, we were able to explore four large areas of global health in conjunction with our interests. I focused on how rural health inequities connect to structural violence, colonialism, and biomedicine/technology advances. I was definitely one of the younger, less experienced students in the course, but the support was so accessible that I recommend this course to anyone interested!
Hi everyone! This week's post will be a little more simple, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it. I will be sharing some of my favorite memories so far in my first spring quarter. I find that each different term (marked by different seasons) truly brings a distinct energy, so I wanted to visually highlight the playful, spontaneous, carefree vibe that spring brings to campus. Here we go...
Hiking the Gile fire tower with friends on one of the first days of spring term.
The Pond Skim – an event put on by the Dartmouth Ski Patrol that brings the community together on one of the first weekends.
Hanging out on the Green and meeting some dogs!
Grilling with friends at the Ledyard clubhouse by the Connecticut River
Leading the DartMUN conference for high-school students
Playing Spikeball on the Green
Canoeing/camping with friends (see last post)
Seeing a dog while watching my friend's soccer game
Valentine's Day at Dartmouth is an exciting day to spread love and appreciation for the people around you! On campus, a myriad of programs are hosted for all students to enjoy.
This past December, I traveled to Vietnam as part of the "Developing Vietnam" study abroad program! Here is a—little overdue—photo journal of my three weeks in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
