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.
How are you doing? Congratulations on making it to Dartmouth—your dorm bed is made, your clothes are folded in the drawer, and your heavy suitcase has finally been emptied. You've got all of Dartmouth ahead of you, so…how do you feel? Nervous? Yeah, I get that. I hope this letter can give you a bit of an idea of what lies ahead of you.
First of all, it's really pretty here. You may think at first that Hanover's fall is nothing special compared to autumn back home, but it isn't just the color of the trees. It's the way the leaves the size of your hand float down from the trees, the way you can see squirrels burying acorns in the ground. Take a lot of walks! You'll enjoy them.
Your classes and professors are going to be great—don't worry about what you should take, and more about what you want to take for now. After all, the early terms are all about exploring. I know it's a little intimidating, but your professors are people too, and they're all so passionate about their area of study. It's great to know that they can and will help you if you just ask!
On that note, there are going to be so many people that you're going to meet whose stories and perspectives are amazing, not just from your class, but from upperclassmen too. You're going to learn so much from what they have experienced in their lives, relating it to your own. And they're all really cool people too, passionate about their causes and more.
But, even with the changes in college life, it's not going to be easy. There are going to be nights where you feel lonely, when you feel homesick. Nights when you're comparing your so-called "college experience" with what you see others doing, wondering if you're doing it "right". Nights when you feel like you're missing out. And that's okay. The first term may not be exactly what you would have expected. But just make sure that you're living for you, for your own desires and expectations. After all, there is so much ahead of you, and you'll get to do all those things when you're ready.
Some quick advice:
Rauner Library is so pretty and nice to study in—you can't study on the first floor with a backpack, though!
Don't get sick! It sucks getting sick (trust me, the past week has been a doozy).
Get to the dryers as soon as your clothes cycle finishes. That way, you don't take up space from others who want to use the dryer!
Eating at Foco (the main dining hall on campus) is good, but vary it up with the Courtyard Café (located in the Hop Performance Center) or somewhere off campus, too!
Through Dartmouth's Guarini Institute for International Study, I am getting to take classes and experience life at Wellesley College, an all-women's school!
