Sawasdee ka! I'm Memo, a '26 (thankfully), and I'm from the sunny city of Bangkok, Thailand. Despite being terrible at hiking and tolerating the cold, here I am in the middle of the woods. I'm leaning toward a CS modified with Digital Arts major and a QSS minor, but I have no idea. Simply put, I will be doing a lot of exploring. Fun times! Anyways, stick around and read my blogs. Please. I will keep you informed and well entertained. :)
During Dartmouth's 2-week-long Orientation period, I had the opportunity to visit each department's open house. I went to the Chemistry and QSS open houses since I have always thought of pursuing these two interests in college. With the intention to just explore other departments out of curiosity, I tagged along with a friend to the Engineering and Computer Science Center.
My first picture of this building on Open House day :)
Now, I am the most indecisive person in the world, so any exciting factors can easily sway me. I've never thought about taking a computer science class in college ever. Let's just say my high school coding experience was not so enjoyable. However, the moment I stepped foot into the ECSC building, I was so mesmerized by its interiors. I wanted to come here every day and take all my 3 classes in this building. Of course, I knew I couldn't just choose my major from how amazing the buildings were, but computer science suddenly became an option.
Anyways, my friend and I roamed around the building for a while, asking professors questions about the courses and appreciating some free orange juice and donuts. One other student asked a professor to give us a pitch as to why we should pursue computer science. I remembered locking eyes with my friends after his speech, and we knew we were both heavily convinced. We had to take CS1.
Course elections rolled along and I ended up taking CS1. The first few weeks were a breeze, but things got real as we sped into the quarter. It requires a chunk of your time, and the assignments are there to make sure you've got a grip on the concepts in the lectures. It's definitely not a layup (easy, chill class), but I think the way Professor Vasanta teaches gave me a stronger foundation in computer science.
Us really going through five stages of grief.
I realized that computer science started making a lot more sense to me, and I was excited to pursue it further. Wonderful opportunities emerged as I started looking into the WISP Research Internship Program. This program matches freshmen and sophomore women who are in STEM disciplines to faculty members for a paid, part-time internship. As I've mentioned, this is a matching program, which means that both the student and faculty members have to be interested in working together.
After attending 2 informational sessions, I applied to the program and emailed a few faculty members to ask for an interview opportunity. I had to do it as soon as possible since availability in each lab may be limited. Three interviews and long days of waiting later, I got a match! In the winter, I'll be working with Professor Lorie Loeb and my WISP teammates on a computer science project titled, 'DALI Lab mobile app design and development.' Can you guess where my meetings will take place for this internship? If you said the Engineering and Computer Science building, you are absolutely right.
So here's my rating for CS right now: so far so good. I am so thrilled and I can't help but wonder what winter term will bring. :
Now, as I'm wrapping up the last days of my freshman year in college (UNBELIEVABLE), I want to share some things that I learned throughout my first year here as well.
There is no "the" thing you should be stressing over doing between your first-year and sophomore years. It's about what you need and what will bring you fulfillment.
Despite the vast ocean that separates me and my dream school, I applied to Dartmouth College as an international student from Bangkok, Thailand in the early decision round. This wasn't just a leap of faith, I assure you.
My first picture of this building on Open House day :)
Us really going through five stages of grief.
