Hi there! I'm May and I'm sooo excited to share my Dartmouth experience with you! I love basically all types of food, binge watching Asian shows, and cozy movie nights! Find me in gym playing badminton, with my friends in the common rooms, getting coffee at Collis (my favorite), or volunteering at local service projects!
Academic Program
Quantitative Social Science
Favorite Thing Right Now
Finally having Stir-fry from Collis after a looong year...
This class was my introduction to quantitative social sciences but it definitely won't be my last QSS class at Dartmouth! We worked with datasets, from global wealth distribution to most popular ramen chains in Japan, and learned how to make graphs/visuals through the programming software R.
Do we really live in the best of all possible worlds? This course explores pessimism and the values of human existence from Greek literature. I've never had much interest in the classics but Prof. Lurie's passion and enthusiasm in his lectures had me up reading Plato at 2am. This is a class which will surely stimulate your intellectual curiosity and push you to ask questions about even the most mundane of things.
As the name suggests, BIO12 explores the nature and function of cells and the class covers a lot of material through lectures and assignments. Through Zoom break-out groups, we discussed and solved practice problems together, an approach I wasn't very familiar with, especially virtually. We also used online databases and findings to compile our own data to analyze for labs, which I found extremely insightful!
My first geography class at Dartmouth and first introduction to GIS technology, something that I've always been intrigued by. Prof. Xun Shi takes the time to go over each conceptl to make sure his students have a solid understanding of the fundamentals. We also had lab sessions where we used ArcGIS to work with spatial data, geographic information, and maps in group projects.
Arguably one of the best classes at Dartmouth! Whether you are a computer science major or not, this class is a "must-take". Beyond coding, I felt as though I gained a whole new outlook on problem solving and creative thinking. Some of the problem sets Professor Vasanta gives the class are really fun and interesting and she herself is a phenomenal teacher. You won't regret taking this class!
The last time I was on the Big Green, I was running across its well-beaten path, desperately trying to reach the other side to say goodbye to a friend before she stepped on the Dartmouth Coach. It wasn't long until it was my turn to get on the bus to the airport and return home.
That was almost 16 months ago. Now, I'm finally back on the Green again, enjoying the summer sun as a new term awaits me.
Trying out the new Boba place in town!
It is sophomore summer. And here at Dartmouth, sophomore summer is pretty much supposed to be the cherry on top of your sophomore year. It's a time when campus is almost entirely all sophomores and we have 10 weeks before junior year to make the most of it. Whether it's digging deeper into our majors, getting involved in more club and service activities, or exploring Hanover outdoors, the world really is our oyster at this time in our Dartmouth journeys.
As much as I'm excited to jump right into my sophomore summer, I also feel a small knot in my stomach. The past year has really been a whirlwind for all of us, hasn't it? It's still hard for me to process everything that has changed and everything that will change in the near future as the pandemic shows signs of exhaustion and COVID restrictions subside gradually. I think many people might share the same mixed feelings of excitement and uneasiness as me. I mean, it wasn't that long ago when we were desperately counting the days until we see our friends and family and do all the things we normally did before. Although the pandemic crisis is far from over, here we are again, opportunities abound but with a shift in normalcy once more.
The last couple of days, I have found sitting on the Green to be a new hobby of mine. I like the warm grass between my toes. I like watching Frisbee games while I enjoy my lunch on the benches by the sides. Most of all, I love hearing the laughter of students in their sun dresses, comfy tops, gym shorts, and summer outfits. Being back on campus, especially seeing all the faces, familiar or not, somehow help me return to a certain sense of normalcy. Little by little, I'm getting there. And maybe, it's okay if the feeling of complete normalcy is still far down the road. Maybe, I'll never feel that way again. Maybe, we're meant to find new normals in life to really be making the most of it, whatever comes our way. I'm constantly finding new sides of myself and continuously learning more about who I am. As I write my own sophomore year, I think I will be trying, finding, and enjoying new "normals", even in the smallest scales.
This term, I decided to build on my already-existing interest in photography and take Photo I: The Intentional Photography. Here's a selection of my works!
Being a super senior ('23) is like being an incoming freshman ('28) in that you get to make a new set of friends. Luckily, Dartmouth is a small school with many social spaces students can tap into.
With the beginning of Week 5 of spring term already upon us comes an outline of my schedule for the term. From trying new activities to settling into courses and club positions, this is what I've been up to during my most beloved term!
This spring in Spare Rib, the intersectional feminist zine and feminist collective on campus, has been quite busy and exciting with a bunch of new events. Keep reading to find out more!
