Hello everyone! My name is Natasha Raman and I'm a freshman at Dartmouth. Although I'm undecided on my major, I am leaning towards something related to government, economics, and Asian studies. In my free time, I like to watch The Office, keep up with current events, learn new languages, and hang out with my friends. I am excited to explore my interests at Dartmouth and take advantage of the amazing opportunities offered here!
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder: A Summer Term Reflection
As I look at the calendar, it's hard for me to believe that summer is already over. Although I wholeheartedly welcome the beginning of fall and the cooler weather that comes with it, this summer was truly unlike any other.
To be honest, I was initially apprehensive about this summer. I was worried that being away from my friends and the campus would make me feel disconnected from the Dartmouth community. I quickly learned that this was far from the case. In fact, in some ways, I feel closer to the Dartmouth community than ever before!
For example, I got to meet so many other amazing '23s through the First-Year Fellows Program. This program, organized by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences, places first-year students in a public-policy related internship with a Dartmouth alumni mentor. I was placed at The American Leader, where I researched constitutional crises in American history. Usually, the program takes place in Washington, D.C. However, due to the pandemic, the program became fully remote. Even though the internship was remote, I gained so many valuable experiences from it. I especially enjoyed getting to know the other fellows, many of whom I did not know prior to the program.
A group picture of all the Fellows taken over Zoom
Another fun part of my summer was hanging out with my friends (remotely, of course!). Even though we are all living hundreds of miles away from each other, talking to my friends over Zoom transported me back to winter term when we'd sit on my friend's futon and hang out for hours on end as snow quietly blanketed the ground white. Admittedly, virtually talking to friends is not nearly comparable to physically hanging out with them. However, talking to my friends this summer has nonetheless been wonderful, and I can't wait to get back on campus to see them.
A throwback to winter term with my friends!
Saying that I miss Dartmouth would be nothing short of an understatement. I miss our beautiful campus, miss my friends, and miss the amazing professors who put their hearts and souls into teaching us. And while a pandemic is certainly not on my list of best things to happen in 2020, spending time away from campus made me realize just how much I can't wait to go back!
As a member of Dartmouth's Native community, just a few weeks into my sophomore summer, we've been busy revitalizing our community and making Dartmouth, once again, feel like home.
Dartmouth just resumed in-person tours for the first time since the winter of 2020! We had a fantastic opening week of welcoming visitors back to campus to explore the beautiful grounds and meet our fantastic tour guides.
Although I'll be engaging in a variety of programs this summer, I wanted to first introduce the Tuck Business Bridge program, which I spent most of June partaking in!
