Hey! I'm Owen from Hollywood, Florida and I'm a '24. My favorite activities are listening to music, running, and reading the same books over and over again. I'm an Earth Science modified with Physics major and Biology minor who loves "The New Yorker," the outdoors, and reading. On campus, I'm involved with hydrological research, the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, Hillel, Greek Life, and—obviously—this blog!
Academic Program
Major in Earth Science modified with Physics & a Minor in Biology
A freshman-only introductory biology class taught by an amazing professor who's super invested and wants students to make friends and develop a love of cell biology.
A really cool introductory Earth Science course that taught the basics of geology, Earth history, and paleontology: all in one super accessible course.
This class taught us the basics of the R programming language in order to use it to analyze real-life hydrologic data. In class, we got to analyze datasets about rain, river discharge, flooding, and acid rain, using only the skills we gained from this course with no prerequisites.
This discussion-based geography class was my first interaction with the Geography Department, which other students have been raving to me about. The class, which is cross-listed with African-American Studies, analyzes how locations shape black embodiment and identity. Super cool stuff!
Spring has sprung in Hanover and the term feels like it's really getting off the ground with classes starting up in full swing, warmer weather, and the occasional muddy day. It's been beautiful in Hanover lately, with the weather staying around 70 and sunny throughout the weekend. Inspired by the sunshine, I've been trying to spend as much time as possible outdoors, going on walks, eating meals outside with friends, and even sunbathing.
Spring is my first term on campus since the fall and it's definitely been fun to catch up with friends and return to my routines after a short spring break at home. I've been getting to my fall routines of working in Novack Café and grabbing food from the Class of '53 Commons, which is affectionately dubbed "Foco" by students.
Beyond adjusting to on-campus life, the start of a new term means new classes. This term, I'm taking General Chemistry 2, a philosophy class called "God, Darwin, and the Cosmos," and an earth science class called "Big Data in Hydrology." While I've really been enjoying all of my classes, I'm especially excited about Big Data in Hydrology, which has been really interesting so far and recently transitioned to an in-person format. The 9-student class focuses on the application of the R programming language to massive amounts of hydrologic data, consisting of observations including precipitation, river discharge, runoff, and flooding. After we finish learning R, the second part of the class will be spent working towards a final project in which we analyze regional variations in hydrology, which I'm really excited about.
This term, I'm trying to focus on appreciating my time at Dartmouth, especially since my first year is marching towards a close. Focusing in on the moments, I'm really looking forward to spring term and sharing it with you guys!
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
