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.
You know, I think I'm learning a lot here at Dartmouth.
Which, you know, when you go to school at Dartmouth, you'd hope that that'd be the case. I mean, at the risk of sounding tacky, here you're surrounded by world-class professors, facilities, and classmates. As far as my experience goes, I have definitely learned a lot in the classroom, and I'm eternally grateful for it.
What I mean, though, is that since coming here, I've learned more than I ever thought I would outside the classroom. Things that I could have learned in a classroom, but for whatever reason never had the opportunity or resources before to. Since coming to Dartmouth, I've picked up how to use Photoshop, edit with Premiere Pro, build websites with HTML and CSS, as well as picking up things here and there with Flutter, R, and Bash.
A little before and after of a Photoshop I recently did. I could give you context about why I decided to create this image but believe me when I say that it would explain nothing.
And none of it was through any of my coursework. All of it was just stuff that Dartmouth had for free, so I figured "eh, I might as well learn it." That's at least how I got started with Photoshop. I am unabashedly the cheapest person you will ever meet. Like, steal napkins from the dining hall cheap. I would list more intense things that I've done to save money, which Dartmouth administrators reading this blog would most likely frown upon. But I digress. I heard from the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern, the school comedy magazine I wrote for, that Photoshop was free and they needed people to Photoshop graphics. So me being a freshman with nothing better to do, I figured I'd give it a shot. Obviously I started off small, making spoof advertisements and such, but after continued practice and assorted web tutorials, I'm now making weird graphics like Jesse from Breaking Bad working out of a Dartmouth chem lab. So not necessarily progress, per se, but it's definitely been fun.
The same goes with editing. Since Adobe Premiere Pro was free, and the sketch comedy organization I'm part of held an editing workshop so I figured I'd pick that up too. Starting with stitching clips together, through trial and error I've gotten to the point where I've just recently edited a 15 minute Patriot Act-esque segment complete with greenscreen and infographics. Not to self-plug, but you can view an example of that right here.
Same thing with coding, too. Yeah, I know the very basics through my intro CS class, but since I've started helping code for a bioinformatics lab my skills have improved by leaps and bounds.
Really, Dartmouth has done everything they can to make learning outside the classroom possible. With everything I've picked up, I still have so much left to learn. But here if there's something you want to learn, chances are that it's there for you. Dartmouth even has free LinkedIn Learning for their students, so if I ever wanted to actually take formal lessons in Photoshop and PremierePro, I could—which is really the most I could ask for out of a school. I've said this time and time again, but Dartmouth is a nerd sanctuary. Deep in the woods with nothing to do but learn, surrounded by other people who feel the same.
LinkedIn Learning is free to Dartmouth, and is an amazing place to pick up new skills. Or so I've heard. Idk... I signed up but haven't tried it yet. But I've heard good things! One day I'll try it, I swear.
I stumbled upon a hidden gem that defies the conventional definition of a café—Red Kite Candy Store. Despite not serving coffee, Red Kite has carved its place in my "Exploring Cafés in Hanover" series for its unique charm and inviting atmosphere.
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.
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.
