Hello hello! I'm Sarah, a '29 from Burnsville, North Carolina (about an hour outside of Asheville, NC). I'm a Questbridge National Match Scholar here at Dartmouth passionate about disaster recovery, climate resiliency, policy, and anything in-between. On campus, I'm involved in Ledyard Canoe Club, World Affairs Council (WAC), Radio News (WebDCRNews), and programming through the Dickey Center, Office of Sustainability, the Center for Social Impact (DCSI), and more! Reach out with any questions!
I was drawn to INTS80.06 as it was taught by Ambassador Jeffery Delaurentis, a career ambassador to Cuba and to the UN Security Council. Throughout the course, we explored the history of the international liberal order that the US created after WWII and where that same international sphere is going today---and if US leadership is necessary or guaranteed.
PBPL5 is offered through the Rockefeller Center, or Rocky, and taught by Professor Nachlis. The class explores the relevant policy issues of today and serves as an introduction to policy-making and the PBPL minor offered through Rocky. I loved PBPL5 because it introduces the way policy is designed, implemented, analyzed, and sometimes fails to show real impact on our lives today.
Also shoutout WRIT5 Authenticity, Society, and Self with Prof Lewis!!!
What defines a disaster? Who gets to recover in a disaster, and who decides what that looks like? Who or what is responsible for recovery?
These are the questions we asked on the first day of class in Anthropology of Disaster, and my answers have changed many times throughout the course. This class was also a Social Impact Practicuum (SIP) through the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact (DCSI), which meant we were doing community-based project work in the community! We worked with partners across Vermont who experienced flooding in 2023 and remain vulnerable. I loved this class, the content, and the opportunity to get more actively engaged in the Upper Valley.
SummerWashington, DC
I spent my summer interning at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, DC. Interning at the GAO was such an awesome experience, and being in DC was awesome! Before this summer, I'd never really been in a city, and now I feel like a public transit expert. My internship was supported by Rocky and connections with Dartmouth Alumni.
It feels like a million years ago that I wrote, submitted, and anxiously awaited the results from my college application essays. I, like many high school seniors, spent hours and hours writing, rewriting, editing, revising, and watching endless YouTube videos (maybe even reading some People, Places, Pines blogs!) about attending Dartmouth College. I think it's fair to say it consumed quite a bit of my thoughts for several months.
And they had the audacity to ask: why?
Why do you want to attend Dartmouth College? Why us?
The 'Why Us?' is a standard college supplemental essay, one asked by most colleges during the admissions cycle. It makes sense—no college is expecting you to apply to only one college so they want to know, what makes us different to you? Why Dartmouth?
It seemed like an impossible feat to capture all the reasons I wanted to attend Dartmouth in 100 words. Looking back, I'm a little shocked at how little I was able to represent what has ended up being most impactful to me during my first year at Dartmouth.
Perhaps you're curious about what I wrote in my "Why Us?" essay, or maybe you're looking for some reflections on the overall application process. Either way, I thought it'd be fun to reflect on my "Why Dartmouth?" essay now, after I've already spent a full year in the woods.
My essay opens: "I wrap up my class, GOVT 7.14: Does Democracy Work?, and head to a meeting with my SIB."
The first line alone made me giggle a little. College changes you a lot, and life in college (especially with theD-Plan) changes a lot. While I came in as an aspiring Government major, I've instead found that I love the Geography department. And no, I haven't taken GOVT 7.14, and I'm not even a part of theSIB Program through DCSI, although I would love to be. Sometimes, it really is logistics that throws a wrench in your plans—to participate in the SIBS program, you need to have had your drivers license for at least a year, which I have not. Coming into college, I've tried to be very open about considering all my options and interests, and I suppose this line tells me that I did a decent job of it.
Even though you choose a major, there is so much happening on Dartmouth's campus. Although I'm not planning to major in Government, I love going to Rockefeller Center events, as well as taking government classes and being apart of policy/government-oriented clubs. This is from when Pete Buttigeg came to campus in February, 2026!
"The D-Plan gives me flexibility for world-class research and internships such as the First Year Fellows while being supported by a collaborative student community and receiving guidance through the FGO and DCCD."
The D-Plan does give me incredible flexibility in internships. Even just with the Winterim schedule, I'm able to squeeze in hands-on experiences where I otherwise wouldn't. Dartmouth's support and funding, like DCSI's ImpACT initiative andRockefeller(Rocky) sponsored Internships, have funded me through two internships now. I did find a lot of support in the First Generation Office (FGO) and especially with the Dartmouth Center for Career Design (DCCD), where I was able to get one-on-one career coaching to go through my resume, LinkedIn, internship opportunities, networking, and more!
I ended up stumbling upon a DC Internship opportunity that has worked out incredibly well, and I'm loving every second of it. I didn't end up applying for the First Year Fellows program simply for overlapping logistics, but I still absolutely have access to all and more of the guidance I had hoped for. Sometimes, things just work out differently, and I haven't been dissapointed yet.
"I grow my leadership skills through the D-Lab and the DOC."
Misconception alert! The DOCdoesn't function as its own club at Dartmouth. Instead, it really functions as a huge cluster of clubs—you can't really join or attend DOC or DOC meetings. For example, I've enjoyed attending Ledyard Canoe Club trips and council meetings, and I'm not sure I would have predicted that at all.
If you haven't learned from my other blogs, the river is the best! I love to go for a few hours by myself, drag some friends with me, or take a DOC trip. Go Ledyard!
"I spend my weekends exploring the Upper Valley, skiing at the Skiway Lodge, and rowing along the Connecticut River."
I had the opportunity to host an upcoming '30 forDartmouth Dimensions. When walking into the library on a Saturday morning, silent with studying students, they asked, "Is it normal to be studying this much on a weekend? Is this just what college is like?"
I think I laughed a little bit because, yes…and no. Many of my weekends are dedicated to studying, preparing for the upcoming week, perhaps catching up on some readings or cleaning. But I've also spent many weekends on the Connecticut River, on DOC trips, shopping in West Lebanon, or even an occasional weekend trip. Looking back, I think I've been fairly balanced with how I spend my weekends, and I've so enjoyed having so many adventures. While many of my adventures aren't confined to just the weekend, an unfortunate number of my adventures may also look like conquering a particularly difficult essay.
A really fun weekend/weekday activity is going to Mousilauke Ravine Lodge, which I knew nothing about before coming to Dartmouth. Undergrads eat free (a three course meal!) and my friends and I spent an evening playing on the lawn outside the lodge and enjoying a wonderful home-cooked meal.
"Dartmouth's vast opportunities push me to explore my passions and maximize my impact on the world."
I can confidently say that, yes, this is true: Dartmouth does have vast opportunities, and I feel very supported and encouraged to explore my interests, curiosities, and impact. One thing I certainly didn't anticipate was just how many opportunities Dartmouth would have, and how simply impossible it is to say yes to all of them. There will be more experiences that are fun, good, comfortable, or exciting than you can say yes to. There will be more clubs that you love attending than you will be able to commit to and more fun trips or experiences than you can agree to. It's so incredible and it's so devastating.
Sometimes I think this makes things difficult—I've certainly felt, and often continue to feel, like I'm not doing enough because there's so much more I would like to do. Sometimes balance feels impossible. Looking back on my "Why Us" essay, there are many things I have already accomplished, some I have yet to, and some I never will. I've learned the hard way at Dartmouth that you can do anything, but you can't do everything. But as I change throughout my time here, I've come to appreciate that my interests, both known and yet-to-be discovered, have a place to flourish, as long as I'm willing to look for a space to grow them. That is why I've chosen to stay at Dartmouth.
If I were to write my "Why Us?" essay again, I would write about sledding at Pine Park and piling thirty people into a common room for a Super Bowl Watch Party. I would write about cozy winter evenings reading in my bed and nights screaming every lyric to an Oasis cover. I would write about all the friends I've made and all the expereinces—good and bad—that led me to discover more about myself, the world, and my interests.
Live music was another one of those things I absolutely love at Dartmouth but would have never predicted---both that there would be so much live music at Dartmouth, and that it would be one of my favorite things about Dartmouth. So here's student band Shark performing at the Green Key block party!
But you can't write about these things before you know them.
So my best piece of advice for someone writing their "Why Us?" is to do your best, and know that things will change. No amount of research can give you on-campus experience. Learn what you want to do, what you're excited to explore, and then give yourself the grace to explore it first-hand. I think you'll surprise yourself with how much Dartmouth has to offer.
This fall, I'm interning at AGBO, an independent entertainment studio in Los Angeles. Here's what a typical day in my life looks like, told through photos!
Last September, a friend and I crafted a ten-item bucket list for our final year as undergraduates. It's the end of our senior spring now. These are some of the boxes I've checked.
