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.
From chemistry to physics to biology, the formative and universal experience for any STEM-class-taking student is the lab section. Unlike other universities where the lab section could be a separate class that counts for more credits, Dartmouth requires a lab section for some courses, which is deemed to be an additional part to the course (all courses are one credit). The lab section is, at most, a four-hour long session once a week where students are taught lab techniques and procedures relevant to the course! It's a pretty substantial chunk of time!
Dartmouth has its fair share of additional curricular hours across academic disciplines; for example, introductory languages classes have drill, in which students meet for an hour three times a week to practice speaking the language, and some computer science courses have recitation, in which students meet with an instructor once a week to do coding exercises. Lab courses are no different, and are often an exciting way to add to the curriculum of the course!
Dissecting a cow heart!
I've taken a number of lab courses so far at Dartmouth, and they've all challenged me, but pushed my scientific interest as well! From looking at genetically modified fruit flies under a microscope in BIOL 13 (Genetics), to dissecting leeches, cockroaches, and lungs in BIOL 14 (Physiology), to purifying compounds in organic chemistry, I've found the lab sections to be some of the most memorable academic experiences so far. My favorite lab course so far has been environmental chemistry (CHEM 63), in which I got to work with a group of people to form our own research project. The lab section there was more independent, meaning that I may have spent more than four hours a week in the lab, but it was self-guided work that we decided on as a group!
One of the biggest challenges that I've come across when it comes to lab classes, however, is the time commitment! With a four-hour long session per week, time becomes a little tighter to manage with a lab class. However, I've found the time commitment more than doable, even if it feels like a long stretch of time.
My time with lab classes is far from done; as a biological chemistry major I'm expecting to do several more lab classes, especially in the chemistry department. Although I wouldn't consider myself to be the best in the lab, the consistent practice that I can get from each lab class helps me improve every time!
As a Digital Media Student Director for Dartmouth's First-Generation Office, it is my role on campus to amplify first-gen voices, foster community, and create meaningful connections through creative outreach.
