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.
Like our trip to Bath earlier in the term, my Foreign Study Program class and I traveled on an all-expense-paid trip to Liverpool this weekend, partly as a weekend getaway and partly as a musically educational experience. As a die-hard Beatles fan, I was very excited to go to the birthplace of one of my—and the world's—favorite bands.
We had lunch at Strawberry Field, attended the Liverpool Beatles Museum, had a meal at the iconic Cavern Club (where the Beatles often performed), and went on the "Magical Mystery Tour," a tour of the homes and iconic locations in the Beatles' story. Here are a couple of pictures of the journey!
We visited Paul McCartney's childhood home!
A part of the iconic Penny Lane, as in the song.
Being in Liverpool really brought into perspective the dedication to music that musical artists like the Beatles had, performing a jawdropping amount of shows and practicing and writing music in their free time.
It's also a beautiful port city!
The iconic Sgt. Peppers outfits.
All in all, I'm really happy that we went on this trip, enjoying a few refreshing days as the end of the term nears.
All three of my classes this term visited the Hood Museum of Art for curated art study sessions related to class content. I have had these sessions in prior terms too, and I really enjoy these experiences.
This past December, I traveled to Vietnam as part of the "Developing Vietnam" study abroad program! Here is a—little overdue—photo journal of my three weeks in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
I am a lucky member of the Dartmouth Decibelles, the oldest all-female acapella group on campus, and my first term with them was filled with so many fun moments.
