Welcome! I'm Olivia Koo '26, hailing from Los Alamos, New Mexico. I hope to study biochemistry on the pre-health track, and I'm excited to supplement it with music, as a classical musician and songwriter! Some of my favorite things to do are watching YouTube videos about my favorite TV shows, fiddling on my guitar, and reading New York Times op-eds.
Academic Program
Biochemistry major, Music minor, pre-health
Favorite Thing Right Now
The thermos of breakfast tea I carry with me everywhere
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!
This last Thursday, I got to perform at a really cool music opportunity!
At Baker-Berry Library, there is a librarian for every major that the college offers, who specializes in the resources revolving around their major (a really awesome resource!). Throughout this term, the librarian for Music has been organizing a Library Concert Series! Every Thursday, people perform music that they'd like at a relaxed venue in the East Reading Room (one of the rooms in the library), from faculty to students. Earlier in the term, I was invited by my Undergraduate Advisor to work on a few songs with him to perform at a Library Concert. Always down to try something new, I practiced with him and collected and rehearsed three songs together, where I played my guitar, he played his cello, and we both sang.
The resolution is a little fuzzy, but here's us performing!
It was really fun—surrounded by friends and people only looking to support you, the Library Concert Series is a great way for anyone to get their voice out there in a low-pressure environment. While most student group performances take place in fraternity and sorority houses, they aren't the only music venues if one looks closer. I think I might try to sign up for some more Library Concert Series in the future—after all, I'd love to get some performance practice in.
Us after the performance!
There are a lot of music opportunities that sprout here and there—there are many student bands on campus, and I've been a part of some of my classmates' endeavors to create a band. Just outside of campus is a music store called Hanover Strings, which has a collection of used and new instruments and amps. It offers rentals to students as well! It's a great deal, and I recommend anyone looking to learn or play an instrument to buy or rent it from this store.
The store is right outside of campus!
I'm excited to see what the future holds for music here at Dartmouth!
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