Welcome! I'm Olivia Koo '26, hailing from Los Alamos, New Mexico. I am studying biological chemistry on the pre-med track, and I'm excited to be supplementing it with music, as a classical pianist and singer-songwriter! Some of my favorite things to do are watching YouTube videos about video games, singing and playing my guitar, and reading New York Times op-eds. Look through my page for information about Dartmouth's pre-med track, STEM research, acapella/music, and study abroad opportunities!
Unsure whether I would enjoy the biology-heavy pre-health track, I took an intro biology class. I surprisingly found myself so invested each class—I didn’t think I’d ever be excited trying to determine if the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) had DNA or RNA, but here we are! I found it a great introduction to thinking processes at Dartmouth.
I loved coming to this class with its supportive environment! The professor's feedback really helped me improve in my writing. This course guided us through personal narratives and organizational writing while discussing what it really means to be authentic. It also introduced me to the library’s resources for writing and research!
This class was definitely not easy! The accelerated version of general chemistry, it was my first class at Dartmouth that used a textbook, and I had to adapt and learn how to use a textbook for a class properly. But that didn't mean I didn't have a good time! The classes were full of physical demonstrations, and I felt very supported in the lab and beyond.
This was the first group music class I took, and I loved it! Each class we'd move a little forward in time; one day we'd talk about medieval chants, and by the next couple weeks, we talked about Baroque music. We even got to observe original medieval music scores from the Rauner Library, and attend a performance of Baroque music by the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra!
Songwriting 1 was the first time I was able to work on something creative/in the arts at Dartmouth, and I really loved it! I got to learn how to improve my songwriting and get to know a community of fellow songwriters on campus. The class was both supportive and constructive, and I pushed myself to my creative limit with the assignment of writing one new song a week. This class inspired me to continue writing and being expressive, whether in an academic setting or not.
For one of my classes on the London Music FSP, I got to attend a myriad of musical performances in London and discuss them with my class! It was a once-in-a-life-time experience–getting to watch multiple operas, ballets, jazz sets, and a musical, as well as seeing beautiful performances from the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, and more, helped me grow my ear so much and my inspirations as a musician.
I took this class to learn a little more about the social landscape around medicine, and this class delivered that by a mile. From environmental exposure to racial inequities in medicine/health to the discussion of medicine itself as a manipulative tool in colonialist social structures, this class helped me rethink medicine and my role within it.
This past week, I had an acapella show with my group, the Rockapellas, and I'd like to take this opportunity to share what acapella is like at Dartmouth College!
Acapella is a staple in US college life, and Dartmouth College is no exception! There are eight acapella groups: three all-male identifying, three all-female identifying, and two co-ed—that's plenty for a campus of Dartmouth's size. Students typically get their first exposure to the acapella groups during their orientation week before school starts, where each group performs in an acapella showcase. That's where I first saw acapella at Dartmouth, and although I hadn't considered joining an acapella group in college before I got here, I found the showcase to display a fun group of people.
Auditions occur early in the fall over a weekend, and I decided to shoot my shot, even though I hadn't ever sung in a choir or group in high school—I just liked to sing. Sure enough, after a late night of singing, I ended up in the Rockapellas! The rest is history.
Unlike some acapella groups at larger schools, the acapella groups at Dartmouth stay within Dartmouth's ecosystem; they don't usually compete in collegiate competitions. Most acapella shows occur within Greek houses, as those are the spaces most available for casual shows; dance and comedy groups also perform in these. I initially found performing in fraternity and sorority houses strange, but singing in these houses has a party-like vibe, where friends watch shows to "hype up" their performing friends, and groups are singing/dancing to have fun. Although I only spend limited time engaging in Greek life, I appreciate the casual venues for the fun they can bring.
Each acapella group is unique, and I appreciate the spin that my group puts on the acapella ecosystem in the school; we're particularly interested in a capella as a form of sharing social awareness through song. As a result, some of the songs we perform relate to a specific social/cultural issue, and we discuss these songs during rehearsals. I, for one, am interested in widening our repertoire through more acapella arrangements to explore more issues, from Native American rights to environmental protection to immigrant stories. When it is tempting to avoid political topics, music can offer a buffer of enjoyment for listeners to truly address the song's message.
There are so many more extracurricular activities at Dartmouth College than acapella and other performance groups, of course! But acapella has, over time, become a large part of my Dartmouth experience, and it's been fun.
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
