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!
Spontaneous Opportunities: The Dartmouth Speech Awards
At Dartmouth, it is always safe to say that happy accidents lead to incredible rewards. Earlier this month, I competed in the annual Speech at Dartmouth competition, which took place on a Tuesday afternoon in Sanborn Library, and I'm absolutely honored to say that I won the Class of 1866 for first-year students. If you were to tell pre-matriculation me that I could now officially call myself a champion orator, I would have told you that you're crazy. But that's the "Dartmouth Difference!" These small surprises, moments of spontaneity and success, are part of what makes Dartmouth special, and I'd love to share a bit of my story with you!
This all began in September of my first-year fall when I arrived on campus. At Dartmouth, first-year students don't select courses until after orientation, so when I arrived, I had no clue what I would be learning during that first term. I was really scared by this prospect, but luckily, I had the help and support of my Dean and my advisor when it came to choosing classes.
All students are encouraged to take three courses per term, so for my first fall, I registered for REL 62 Religion, Politics, and the Presidency, THEA 40 Technical Production, and GEOG 1.02 The Natural Environment. When class began on Monday, I was ecstatic and ready for the term ahead, but after my first day, I quickly realized that I wanted to drop one of my classes. The professor was amazing, the content was really engaging, but I realized that the course just wasn't the right fit for me at that moment. That afternoon, I looked at our timetable—the central location with all of the offered courses—and decided to switch into SPEE 20 Public Speaking.
What started as a slightly stressful week, where I didn't know what to do, what to expect, or even understand how to switch in and out of classes, soon became one of the best decisions I made that fall. In SPEE 20 I was able to truly develop as an orator. I wrote speeches on topics ranging from napping to sign language and so much more. I learned how to be persuasive, engaging, and topical. Through this class, I really fell in love with public speaking.
Once the term was over, I was notified that my speech professor had nominated me for the Speech at Dartmouth oratory awards. Any student can submit a speech through the open call, but I went straight to the finals since I was nominated. Over spring break, I refined my script to prepare for the May competition. I met with my professor before and after spring break to get her advice on my presentation and to practice. Throughout the entire process, I felt such immense support for the Dartmouth Speech faculty, and I am so grateful to have participated in this process.
Although I was nervous, I knew I was prepared, thanks in part to my wonderful professor. Without the help of the speech faculty, I never would have had the confidence to win this award, and without the natural spontaneity of Dartmouth, I never would have been in the position to compete.
Dartmouth really presents so many unique opportunities for its students, and professors at Dartmouth are always there to support!
Dartmouth has so many academic resources, including free newspaper subscriptions! Although this may not seem like a big deal, it's a great accessible way to learn about local and national news!
Dartmouth requires all students to take three PE/Wellness classes in order to graduate. Upon hearing glowing recommendations, I chose to take the wellness sampler offered by the Student Wellness Center as a way to fulfill this requirement.
