Hi! I'm Reece, and I am '28 from Northern California! I hope to study Government, Policy, and Religion in college but come winter, I'll just be hoping to survive the snow. Outside of classes, I love to read, crochet, and journal, and can't wait to expand on my interests this year. I love the outdoors—but hate hiking—and I can't wait for my first spring on the Green! I hope my blog can help answer your ungoogleable questions, and please follow along for chaos that is bound to ensue!
As a student interested in both government and religion, I was thrilled to take this course in the fall—concurrent with the presidential election. The Professor, Randall Balmer, was a really engaging speaker and a leading expert in the field—he even authored two of the course books! We spent our class time discussing many historical and modern elections and discussed in depth the religious influences on the various figures. Overall, this class was really interesting and a great introduction to the religion major!
I took this class with Professor Devin Singh, and it really solidified my interest in studying Religion at Dartmouth. We began the course by outlining the various emergence theories of money, and spent a significant amount of time debunking the most popular: commodity theory (i.e., that money emerged to help people trade). We examined historical evidence, discussed relevant texts, and were able to build our own theories about the history of money. The second half of class focused on the religious connotations of wealth. Overall, this course challenged me in a positive way and highlighted the importance of studying religion in contemporary society.
I wanted to try something new this term, so I took my first pure STEM course at Dartmouth—a mini departure from what I have done in the past. At first, I was apprehensive as Computer Science 1 is a larger class held in a big lecture hall, but my fears were quickly squashed. Throughout the term, I felt so much support from my peers, all the TAs, and even the professor himself. Professor Campbell was an engaging lecturer who kept classes interesting, always telling little anecdotes about his life and his journey to CS, all while adding a few dad jokes here and there. He held weekly office hours, concept chats, and coffee hours with students, so there were plenty of opportunities to get to know him on a personal level. Although I am not a STEM or CS major, and will probably not take another CS class at Dartmouth, I really enjoyed this course! It taught me the foundations of computer science, pushed me as a student, and made me realize how important it is to try new things!
While most college students spend their first summer at home or doing an internship in a nearby city—both of which are popular options at Dartmouth—I have the opportunity to do something else entirely. While my friends are back in the United States, I am in Italy studying abroad for the first time. This might sound like a rare opportunity, but at Dartmouth it's fairly common; In fact, there are at least five study abroad programs that happen solely in the summer term (only possible because of our d-plan), and are geared towards underclassmen.
This summer, I am taking part in FIRE (Full Immersion Rome Experience) so I'm spending almost twelve weeks in Italy. Our home base is in Rome, but as a group, we take some small trips around the country.
Our Group Trip to Sicily, Working with Libera, an Anti-Mafia Organization.
The View from the Top of the Duomo on a Group Trip to Firenze (Florence)
When I first enrolled in the program, I was really worried that I would miss my community back home as I would be gone for the whole summer. While I do miss my friends and family, I am also finding ways to build community while abroad.
Most of our Cohort in front of the Pantheon
Almost all of Dartmouth's abroad programs operate in cohorts, meaning that a group of Dartmouth students and faculty travel with you to your destination. In my program, there are thirteen underclassmen students, one upperclassman director's assistant, and three Dartmouth professors. Our group is fairly small, so we've all taken the opportunity to get to know each other and build new bonds (which is very typical for a Dartmouth abroad).
As a group, we love traveling together, going sightseeing after class, exploring Rome, or just hanging out around the apartment. Some of my fondest moments so far have been going to random Jazz cafes in Rome or getting brunch together to celebrate the end of a long week.
Our Casual Trip to the Colosseum
On the Fourth of July, some of us cooked burgers and invited everyone over for a mini BBQ party. We all ate while watching the sunset on our balcony, played classic American songs on the speaker, and danced until nearly midnight. We've also spent many nights playing card games in one of the bigger apartments, going on walks or late-night gelato runs in our neighborhood of Rome, or just chatting until we all eventually fall asleep.
In just four short weeks, my sense of community has completely changed. While it still encompasses my friends and family from California and Dartmouth, there is now a special space carved out for my community abroad. The people I've met here, the experiences we've shared, and the moments we've built together have made this place feel like a second home. Even thousands of miles away, I've learned that community isn't tied to one location—it's something we carry with us, something we can create wherever we go, and a feeling that is so abundant at Dartmouth!
I've just finished my first four weeks as a Concord Monitor news intern, having delved into journalism in ways I couldn't have without the help I received from Dartmouth's Center for Professional Development.
Read about the Sophomore Summer Soiree and how I got to witness the beginning of something that hopefully grows into a long-standing Dartmouth tradition!
Recently, I spent the 4th of July in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. (where I am working as a Rockefeller Center First-Year Fellow), and it was amazing!
On the Beijing LSA+, we have real-world Chinese practice every Friday. Last week we went to two neighborhoods, Houhai and Shichahai, and wrote a photo log about our experience. Read along to see what immersive language learning here looks like!
