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. :)
A 10-week term is no joke. When I say time flies, I mean it FLIES. I was scrolling through my camera earlier today and I kept thinking that there was no way these events happened 2 months ago. Especially with classes, I felt like I made impressive progress in the span of 9 weeks, and I have a few things to say about them before the term officially ends.
If you've read my previous blogs, you might remember that I'm taking Introduction to Programming and Computation this term! What are the requirements for this course? Attendance is not taken, but you should go to lectures, and read the online textbook (preferably before class and not an hour before the assignment is due). We are assigned Short Assignments and Labs throughout the quarter. These do take some time, but with the help of TAs and class notes, you will surely be able to do them. Other than that, CS recitation hours are a must. It's a weekly meeting with an assigned TA, and you get the opportunity to improve your understanding of that week's focus. What I love about this class is that the professor explains coding concepts with tangible ideas and pictures. The TAs' office hours are also almost every hour of every day, and they are here to make sure you all succeed. A big bonus is that there is no final exam! I just took my last midterm about a week ago, and I've never felt more relieved.
I also spontaneously decided to take PSYC1 at the beginning of the term, and I don't regret that one bit. Introductory Psychology is also a lecture-based course, but knowing the materials in the textbook is equally as important. I didn't realize that for my first midterm, so I didn't look over any textbook notes I made. Luckily, my friends crammed all the essential facts into my head the night before the test (I love them). If you've taken AP Psychology before, you might be familiar with many topics that were covered in the lectures, but being at Dartmouth makes this class 100 times more interesting. You would be learning about universal expressions of emotions then realizing that your professor literally published the paper that was mentioned in the textbook. Fun psychology fact: Phineas Gage worked in Hanover Inn (it's on our campus) before his major brain injury!
Psych summary before a test :')
Advanced First-Year Chinese is my third course for the term. We learn fast-paced traditional Mandarin. Our class meets 4 times a week and we have 2 mandatory 30-minute drills. I also studied for a test every week (cry). However, this class is super helpful! My Chinese improved dramatically and by finishing this course, I can apply for the Beijing Language Study Abroad program.
Trying to study for my Chinese quiz.
Though I was buried under piles of work for basically half the quarter, I managed to survive till the end (so proud). I am super grateful for the resources and support I've received from my professors, TAs, tutors, and peers. I genuinely can't wait for the winter term. But before that, it's time for winter break!
This term, I joined the Dartmouth Irving Institute's First-Year Fellows program, a new initiative designed to help first-year students get involved with sustainable energy at Dartmouth. Read about it here!
As my freshman fall enters its final month, I reflect upon my First-Year Trip, an outdoorsy pre-orientation program to ease the freshman class into the college experience.
I spent a Saturday running a country with wargaming specialists from the U.S. Naval College! Read on to learn more about the Great Issues Scholars Program.
This week, I decided to interview my partner about his study abroad at the University of Copenhagen - a popular Dartmouth exchange program through the Sociology department.
