Hey y'all! My name is Natasha, and I am a junior at Dartmouth College. I'm majoring in history and minoring in public policy and Chinese. In my free time, I love to watch New Girl, hang out with my friends, and explore the Upper Valley. Dartmouth is a pretty neat place— I hope you enjoy reading my posts about life here!
Academic Program
History Major and Minors in Public Policy and Chinese
Chinese 004 was my first language class at Dartmouth. Although the class was fast-paced and a lot of work, my professor, Alan Li, was really engaging and I became close with my classmates.
I really enjoyed this class! My professor, Charles Wheelan, was so hilarious and an amazing lecturer. I still find myself applying concepts I learned in that class to my real life.
As part of Dartmouth's liberal arts mission, all students have to take a technology or applied science course with a lab component in order to graduate. I decided to take computer science 1 to fulfill this requirement. As someone with no prior coding experience, I definitely was challenged in this class. However, by the end of the term, I gained a valuable skill and was really proud of how far I came!
This class inspired me to be a history major! In this class, I learned about the major economic developments that occurred from the 1800s till now. I found this topic to be very fascinating, and I really enjoyed the way my professor, Stefan Link, taught the material.
In this class, I was taught the basics of conducting quantitative analysis. We primarily worked in STATA and utilized statistical concepts to analyze social science data. My professor, Kristin Smith, was so incredibly kind and made sure that everyone in the class understood the material.
I gained a comprehensive understanding of Chinese history from this class. As an asynchronous class, I had to be incredibly organized and diligent to ensure I was on top of the material. My professor, Pamela Crossley, was incredibly knowledgeable and was always available to talk to if I had any questions.
This was my first European history course at Dartmouth, and I loved it so much! My professor, David Petruccelli, was an engaging lecturer and was always willing to talk with me whenever I had a question. I learned so much about World War I and its implications on European and international politics.
I have really enjoyed Public Policy 45 with Professor Ronald Shaiko. As a public policy minor, I have found the material in the course to be both interesting and useful. In this course, we learn about different research methods and apply what we learn to conduct non-partisan policy research.
As my fun and hectic summer in New York City began to wind down, I found myself yearning to return to campus. In addition to looking forward to reuniting with all of my amazing friends who were spread across the country this summer, I was also excited to begin classes again and take part in all of the fun activities available at Dartmouth and the larger Upper Valley region. One of the first places I visited since being on campus is a farmers market. My friends and I decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather in the first few weeks of the term by visiting the Norwich Farmers Market, a local market that is only a 5-minute drive from campus. It was my first time visiting this farmers market, so I wasn't sure what to expect. However, as soon as my friends and I pulled up to the location, I was taken aback by how gorgeous it was.
One of the stalls at the farmers market
The market was bustling with people from the community, both Dartmouth students and local residents. Stalls were manned by local business owners who were selling a wide variety of products, spanning from flowers to pickles and handmade wooden items. My favorite stall was the grilled cheese sandwich stall. My friend and I split a grilled goat cheese sandwich– inarguably the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had!
The delicious grilled goat cheese sandwich I ate!
After visiting each of the stalls, my friends and I sat down and enjoyed the gorgeous weather while we listened to the local band playing. It was such an amazing experience and was a great way to start my day!
As a senior at Dartmouth, you would think I have seen and done it all. But I find myself constantly surprised by the numerous hidden gems in the Upper Valley. I can't wait to fully get into the swing of fall term and continue to explore the place I call my home away from home!
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
