First, I'll explain who I am. I'm Nicholas Sugiarto, a '23 from San Diego, California. Second, a quick disclaimer. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. Prior to Dartmouth, I've never hiked, skied, or seen snow. So yeah, you could say that Dartmouth is quite a bit different from what I'm used to. You'll probably find me on campus lost. I have no sense of direction. Please help.
A class studying how Christian language has permeated into how we as a society talk about economics. I have virtually no interest in either field as a major, nor am I really religious, but the class is super fun! It challenges you to think in ways that aren't outstandingly obvious, but get more and more interesting if you're willing to put the time in to thinking about them. It's by no means your traditional class. At least in the high school I came from, the idea of dedicating an entire term to a topic as niche as this is unheard of. But honestly? That just makes it so much more fulfilling. Like most Dartmouth classes, there's a ton of freedom to explore topics that interest you. For my final term paper, since I'm a huge hip hop fan, I wrote about the religious and economic underpinnings of Kendrick Lamar's "How Much a Dollar Cost." Without diving too deep into the jargon, I argued that money according to Kendrick Lamar, is defined by Western capitalism heavily intertwined with American Prosperity Gospel; its true nature, on the other hand, is a form of spiritual exchange. I loved this class so much that I was able to take my professor out to breakfast (on Dartmouth's dime, of course. Quick college lesson, never, ever pay for food. Live life Aladdin style.).
For those that don't know, Writing 5 is a class that's mandated for all Freshman. It helps you adjust to college writing, research, all that good stuff. There's a ton of topics to choose from, ranging from the criminal justice system to how food affects your mind. I personally chose "Pursuit of Happiness" because, well, who doesn't want to be happy? This class was my first intro to what the Dartmouth academic experience is really about. It was a small class of only 16 strong where classes were discussion-based and the professor's door is always open. It goes without saying that the course was immensely interesting (is there really a way to make happiness boring?), and we studied a vast majority of topics from Aristotle to Voltaire to Biochemical research studies. I tell incoming students all the time that if you want to make the most of your Dartmouth experience, take classes that interest you and make what you do with those classes interesting too. There's nothing more painful than having to write a paper on a topic you find absolutely mind-numbingly dull. Given my fascination with stand up comedy, I focused on viewing comedy as a form of happiness, starting from comedy in relation to Camus's absurd, the higher prevalence of mental illness in comedians, and what kind of comedians deserve happiness. Honestly? Even though this class was technically "mandatory," I would have taken it regardless.
This is the class I'm currently taking, and it's by far my favorite. You couldn't tell by my posts, or my favorite classes I listed earlier, but I'm actually a huge STEM guy. I'm a biomedical engineering major for a reason, and Dartmouth classes really make STEM fun. They're also so easy a child could follow them. Literally. I'm using the computer science 1 curriculum to teach my little sister coding. At a slower pace of course. She's not THAT smart (yet). I've never tried coding before, but the task-based approach of the CS department really makes things interesting. So far, we've drawn a children's book/ logo, a chalkboard drawing (I drew the Kanye bear), and a retro pong game. There's something fun about solving puzzles for a grade, and even though the course is admittedly pretty challenging at times, it's so worth it.
It's easy to phone certain things in during online school, especially things that traditionally have an in-person component.
A prototype of the handle for the device my group and I were making! It's really cool learning how to use the 3D printer!
For context, I'm an engineering student, which means I have to take two specific classes: Physics 14 (electricity and magnetism), and Engineerings (Engs) 21 Intro to Engineering. Now, during a normal term, I'd be on campus, using the machine shop, 3D Printer, and all that cool stuff. For physics, there's usually a lab component to the course, where we (presumably) get to build cool stuff using, well, electricity and magnets.
Unfortunately, given that the whole point of COVID and quarantine is to "stay at home," I knew coming in that I wouldn't be able to experience much of that (though I'm hearing rumors down the mill that the students next year will). The problem for me, though, was that I was really scared that if I couldn't use the machine shop like I normally could, that would really hurt me down the line. After all, my other engineering classes after these will probably rely on me having this knowledge.
But, actually, for engineering they got a pretty good system going. They set up all around campus limited capacity satellite stations that even someone like me (who lives off campus) could come in and use anytime (in a COVID safe manner, of course). I've been able to do some pretty cool stuff with that. I've been able to 3D print a couple parts for my big ENGS project, and next week I'm going to learn how to weld!
The motor I made for my Physics 14 class!
Even for Physics, they started shipping us materials for us to build with! For one of our lab sessions, they shipped us beforehand a bunch of building materials like sandpaper, batteries, wire, and batteries to build our own rudimentary motors. They also, as a treat, included a little chocolate bar for us to enjoy. I would show a picture, but I already ate it.
Now, I'm supposed to say here that this really solidified my understanding of the course material, and it would have if I wasn't behind on the course readings and have no idea how it works. Admittedly, that part isn't the professor's fault so much as it is mine. Still fun to watch it spin though!
Regardless, I've always appreciated the effort that comes out of the Dartmouth faculty. The pandemic has been going on for a year now, and although a year isn't much in the grand scheme of things, a year is unfortunately already 25% of my Dartmouth career. And it's easy to feel like I'm losing a lot of it to something that much of us wish had never happened. But even though that's something none of us can change, it's nice to know that my professors and department are putting so much effort into it all for us.
