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.
For my junior winter term, I took an off-term, and participated in full-time research at Dartmouth!
What is an off-term?
Dartmouth has a unique schooling schedule coined the D-Plan! Students are highly recommended to take their summer term after their sophomore year "on," taking classes and enjoying the New England summer! With this, students are given the opportunity to customize their school experience by deciding where they want to use their three term-long breaks, called "off-terms." These can be placed anywhere within their sophomore and junior years! Students use their off-terms often to pursue work, internships and personal projects, to travel, and just to relax, as well! In my D-Plan, my off-terms have been the summer after my freshman year and this past winter term, with an upcoming off-term again this summer!
Why did I stay on-campus?
With the wide range of possibilities of what I could do during my off-term, I decided that it would be best for me and my academic journey to participate in full-time research on campus. It was a great chance to gain experience quickly, especially as I changed to a new project this winter from my previous lab experience! Getting to fully immerse myself in the goals, concepts, and procedures of this lab was wonderful, especially as I hope to pursue a thesis with this research! Full-time research students at Dartmouth often find funding for their research through Undergraduate Research Assistantships at Dartmouth (URAD), a program that supports students in part-time and full-time research. Since I was working in the Chemistry department, I found my funding source through the department itself.
What was my research?
My lab group's research focus is in bioinorganic chemistry, more specifically, measuring the thermodynamics of metal ions binding to proteins through isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC)! With such a wide scope of potential topics, I was able to talk with my professor and determine a potential project for me to begin preliminary research on! Throughout the term I read up on ITC, learned how to set up experiments, and explored the ins and outs of common experimental problems and post-hoc analyses.
Here's the calorimeter I worked with for the majority of this term!
What did I do outside of work?
There were other perks of staying on campus! With my free time, I got to audit (attending a class without a grade) CHEM 40 Physical Chemistry of Biological Processes to help prepare me for future biochemistry courses. I also was able to do things on-campus that I usually wouldn't have time to do in a busy school term. For example, I went to the Jewelry Studio and made a bracelet for the first time!
I also went ice skating on Occom Pond!
Lastly, I got to be with my friends during the Hanover winter. Despite my worries about the New England cold before coming to Dartmouth, winter has become one of my favorite seasons here. Something about the snow and quiet gives a unique feel to the campus, and makes the warmer terms of Dartmouth all the sweeter.
Inspired by my fall term recap post, I wanted to share a similar recap at the end of these nine weeks of the winter term. Read on to see what I've been up to!
