Welcome to the woods! My name is Natalie and I'm from California (3035 miles away from Dartmouth)! I'm a political science and crossword puzzle nerd who's excited to dive into the millions of activities we have on campus. I'm a Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major at Dartmouth, and am considering both a History and Human-Centered Design minor. I'm also the President of the Parliamentary Debate team! Go Big Green!
Have you ever wondered about the link between gang violence and after-school programs? Between a link between accessibility of doctors office and ADHD diagnosis? Between gender dynamics and drug usage? System Dynamics uses a systems thinking framework to explore policy that builds links between issues and their root causes.
Wow! Such an introduction to the Middle East... politically, economically, historically, artistically. I learned so much in this class -- and since taking it, I feel like I can really understand contemporary conversations about the region.
Udi Greenberg is the best lecturer I have ever had. Come to Dartmouth for the woods, stay for the teaching! Professor Greenberg's lectures flowed like stories... the most captivated I've ever been by a class!
Why is foreign aid so prevalent in conflict zones? Does giving money to areas in conflict help reduce violence? Answers to all this and more lie in this class.
Recently, I gave my tour test, the final step in my training to become a tour guide. We give a mock tour to one of the senior tour guides, who evaluate us on our energy and correctness, making sure every tour that prospective students go on is full of information and enthusiasm about our school.
One of the criteria for a good tour is being able to effectively communicate why you chose Dartmouth as a high school senior, and why you continue to choose Dartmouth as a current student. I figured, after spending some time thinking about my answer, that maybe it would be a good thing to share with y'all, too, just in case you can't make it to campus for a tour.
My "Why Dartmouth" is two parts.
Dartmouth scared me. It is 3500 miles away from home, carries the reputation of "most conservative Ivy" (not true in my experience), and was in the middle of rural New Hampshire. Coming from San Francisco, it was as far away from my comfort zone as I could possibly imagine. After living at home for a year, I needed to do something that was different — I knew if I went to school in a city, I would live in a city for the rest of my life. College felt like an opportunity to try something new, and I wanted to take advantage of it! Dartmouth has been hard — it's been outside my comfort zone. However, I know I am growing just by existing here and couldn't be happier with my choice.
At the same time that Dartmouth has pushed me, it's been my place of "and." Dartmouth has supported all the parts of my identity. Here, I can be both a debater and a designer, queer and Catholic, introverted and social. Dartmouth has held me and supported me in the fullness of my identity. I feel like I am learning to make decisions that support all the pieces of me instead of forcing me to choose between them. As a tour guide, I often get asked, "What type of student does well at Dartmouth?" As annoying as it sounds, there is no one Dartmouth student — there are 4400 of us on campus, each stretched between 1 million different adjectives and identities.
That's my 'why', and I think pieces of that are a part of every student at Dartmouth's 'why'.
After returning from an enriching study abroad program, I'm diving into a bustling spring semester here at Dartmouth. Here are my four courses I'm taking this term!
Dartmouth's liberal arts curriculum pushes students to explore new departments and draw connections between seemingly disparate disciplines. Come explore my Economics, Physics, and Asian, Societies, Cultures, and Languages classes!
