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.
I find it hard to believe that I'm already 2/12 terms through at Dartmouth—where does the time go, really? The Green is looking a little greener, and the sun a little warmer—let's start it off with the classes I'll be taking this term!
Spanish 3
I'll finally be wrapping up my language requirement! I didn't think I'd ever really take language classes at Dartmouth, but it's offered a place of stability, a consistent through-line of my daily routine as I've adjusted to life at Dartmouth and its fast-paced terms. To think I started off at Dartmouth not knowing a lick of Spanish!
I'm excited to see what this next term of Spanish will bring.
First-Year Seminar: Science Communications in Context
For the second half of my writing requirement, I am taking a class that explores the relationship between scientists and the public. How should scientists distribute information so that it is trusted by the public? How do we address scientific misinformation? I find the topic rather timely, as we've seen many examples in the past decade of varying levels of trust in scientific information, from vaccines to nanotechnology. I'm interested in the types and flaws of different approaches to communication, and therefore looking forward to exploring how science communication has evolved in the past century. I hope to apply the skills that I developed in the last writing class to this one effectively!
This is the first term where I get to spend a lot of time at the Fairchild Tower, which connects some buildings where I have classes. It's pretty!
Chemistry 11
This accelerated introductory chemistry class has the most people I have had in a class at Dartmouth so far: about 60 people! It covers the basics of chemistry, and I am taking it for the pre-medical requirement. There are two tracks of introductory chemistry: one is taking Chemistry 5 and 6 in two different terms, and the other is taking Chemistry 11, which covers the topics of 5 and 6 in one term (5+6 = 11…get it?)
My chemistry lab notebook!
I've found the class to be very interesting so far; the professor is very clear, and there are class demonstrations! So far, we've gotten to witness different colored fires to demonstrate the emission radiations of different elements, the effect of UV light on electrons in metals, and more.
Notably, my classes ended up being slightly 'chosen for me' this year. For my winter and spring terms, the first-year writing requirement and language requirement took up two slots out of three, and a pre-medical class took the last slot. I may not have been able to "explore" classes as much as some of my peers. But that's okay! Before starting classes in the fall, people often told me to explore however much I wanted to, to take the classes that I wouldn't be able to take in future years when I'd be more 'limited' by my major. I found it a little discouraging; was I eliminating options by taking so many requirements in my first year rather than poking around different departments I'd never seen?
But it's okay! After all, I've been able to choose what I wanted to do given the requirements—I was lucky to get my first choices for my writing requirement classes that explore topics that I am interested in. Having 'less' options in my first year also reduced some stress in choosing classes—it's hard when you have too many options! However, I'm also excited to see what I can explore in future terms, and to check out what more Dartmouth offers.
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
Unlike some other universities, many of the STEM lecture classes at Dartmouth require concurrent enrollment in a laboratory section. What is it like navigating that time as a student?
