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!
Since the fall, Dartmouth has offered a limited number of in-person classes for undergraduates, instead prioritizing online courses. While I've had a really great experience with online classes since getting to Dartmouth, I've really been craving the student-professor interactions that form from in-person classes. Luckily for me, my Earth Science class this term just transitioned to an in-person format!
Already my favorite class before moving to in-person, "Big Data Science in Hydrology" pulls content from computer science, environmental statistics, and hydrology—the study of the movement of Earth's water—to form a really interesting interdisciplinary class. The class has no prerequisites and my classmates come from a variety of academic backgrounds, from—obviously—earth science to computer science and biology.
While the first half of the course is an intensive dive into programming in R, we're also getting a ton of exposure to the science of hydrology, which we're learning through data analysis. Our homework assignments require us to analyze extremely large data sets to draw conclusions about hydrology. For example, the homework for tomorrow's class asked us to program a probability-weighted randomized simulation of 100 years of individual precipitation events based on 20,000 pieces of data collected by the Shattuck Observatory on campus. In running these simulations, we learned about water management and the considerations an engineer might think about before building a reservoir or planning for floods.
Beyond academics, the class is also a really great opportunity to connect with other students interested in studying earth science, especially since there are only 9 students in the class. Between the hours spent together in class and office hours, I'm sure that I'll be able to develop strong bonds within the class, which I'm super hype about.
Through Dartmouth's Guarini Institute for International Study, I am getting to take classes and experience life at Wellesley College, an all-women's school!
Academics can be challenging at Dartmouth. But there are lots of groups across campus here to support you through your academic journey. Read on for my experience asking for help and a few organizations that might be helpful to you!
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
