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!
After a few weeks of adjusting to in-person classes and the general swing of college life, I thought I'd take you through a day in my life during week 5: the midpoint in an action-packed, quick flying Dartmouth term. Right now, I'm taking 3 classes and working on research, all while trying to spend as much time outdoors soaking up the final days of warm weather in Hanover.
On this Wednesday, I woke up at around 9 and headed over to the Class of '53 Commons—known by students as Foco—to do some readings for my Geography class before heading over to my classes for the day. Honestly, doing work at Foco during breakfast is one of my favorite things to do at school; I really love sipping on my coffee while slowly preparing for the day.
From Foco, I headed over to my first class of the day, Physics 13: Introductory Physics 1. While most students take this class as an engineering prerequisite, I decided to take it to scope out my interest in physics as someone with almost no physics backgrounds and I really love it. The professor is super dedicated and passionate and uses super cool demonstrations to show us examples of the physics we're learning.
After physics, I head next door to Fairchild Tower for my next class, Earth Science 35: The Soil Resource. Focusing on the geologic, ecologic, and physical properties of soil, this class teaches us all about how one of Earth's most important resources and how to care for it properly. Today we talked all about soil organic matter and how farmers can increase the organic matter in their soil.
My last class is called Racial Geographies: Race and the Politics of Place, cross-listed between the Geography and African American Studies departments. In this small discussion-based class, we usually have really engaged discussions about the embodiment and creation of blackness and its relationship to space and time through readings about redlining, over policing, LGBT ballroom culture, and more.
Peyton snapped this picture of me while we were working on some homework in Pine Park.
After finishing classes, I headed over to Courtyard Café in the Hopkins Center of the Arts for a quick lunch before grabbing my friend Peyton and heading to Pine Park to chill out in hammocks for a bit, appreciating the last couple days of sun by the river. We hung out there for a couple hours talking, listening to music, and grinding on homework until sunset when we grabbed take-out from Tuk Tuk Thai in Hanover to end the night. Thanks for following along!
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!
