Hello there! My name is Shuyi and I'm a '23, which means it's my senior year here at Dartmouth! Follow me for my last year at Dartmouth as I reflect upon my college experience. At Dartmouth, I enjoy playing squash, eating at late night, and of course, blogging. You can ask me about studying social sciences, coming to Dartmouth as an international student, and anything else really. I hope you enjoy the blog!
I actually wasn't planning on taking this class but it eventually became my favorite class. The professor was very funny and created a relaxed classroom environment where I enjoyed looking at diversity in different contexts, such as college admissions and group dynamics.
This class was a perfect mix of philosophy, classical studies, and writing. We were able to reflect on societal views, our own ideas of optimism and pessimism, and how we can lead more fulfilling and compassionate lives.
My first experience with computer science was my Freshman winter, and I quickly became interested in the subject. I followed up CS1 with CS10 in the Spring, which I found just as cool. I love how you can solve problems by applying logic and math with computer science, and I look forward to diving deeper into the major!
Econ 21 is required for all Econ majors, and I loved my experience with Professor Gustman. He made the material super easy to digest and allowed me to take exams in my timezone, which I thought was really nice.
It was really interesting to study public speaking in an asynchronous environment, and I came away with a deeper understanding of not only public speaking but speech writing. I wrote a separate blog post about the class, so check it out!
Since English was one of my favorite classes in high school, I wanted to take another writing course at Dartmouth. This was a great choice, as it was a perfect mix of lecture and discussion. I loved reading and learning about several American dramas, and even discussing modern topics such as Trump's rhetoric!
SummerShanghai
I took my Sophomore Summer off, which many international students do, and got involved with the Tuck School of Business through the Bridge and Paganucci programs! You can read more about my summer experiences in my blogs!
This was my first class from the QSS department, which was long overdue considering that I'm a QSS major! I really enjoyed picking up some coding skills and tackling problems like transitional justice with quantitative approaches.
I took Econ 25 in the Fall, and Econ 35 was the next course in the game theory sequence! It was really fun to apply game theory to cool concepts like sports, Covid-19, and auctions.
This was my first time taking a music class even though I have been involved with music my entire life, whether that was playing the piano or learning how to make beats. I loved this class because I not only learned more about music, but more about Native culture as well!
SummerNew York
I took my junior summer off to pursue a management consulting internship in New York. I had a wonderful experience!
I absolutely loved this class! Theatre was one of my favorite classes in middle school, and so it was great to reconnect with theatre again in college. The professor was amazingly kind and passionate, and the final project was a really fun group performance!
This was a small class of around 15 people, which allowed us to have intimate discussions of readings and theatre. I loved hearing from my classmates, as we used our personal experiences to guide us in our understanding of materials. My final project was a protest on campus, which also really fun and refreshing take on performance!
Before reading this final blog post, I decided to look through my blog profile, which encompasses four years of blogs. In many ways, my posts here are a summary of my time at Dartmouth, capturing my thoughts and experiences at different chapters of my Dartmouth experience. Therefore, to cap off my Dartmouth experience and final blog post, I thought I would share the most important lessons I've taken from the past four years. I will take these lessons into new adventures ahead, and I hope they can be helpful for anyone reading as well!
1. First, I've learned that pushing yourself to being "uncomfortable" can lead to great experiences. This certainly doesn't apply to everyone, but as a more introverted person I often prefer staying in and watching TV instead of going out and doing something, whether that's watching a performance, playing a sport, or just hanging out. While staying in always seems like the more comfortable option, I've found that my best memories here are when I do things that make me slightly uncomfortable. For any soon to be college students out there, I encourage you to audition for that performance group, try out for that sports team, or apply for that club. While it's always a little scary to put yourself out there, you never know where that first step might take you!
2. Next, don't compare your college experience with other people's. When I first entered Dartmouth, I wanted to do everything everyone else was doing. However, I now realize that your Dartmouth experience should be shaped by your own interests and backgrounds, and not what everyone else is doing. At Dartmouth, the culture can be biased towards certain clubs, hobbies, and even career paths. Furthermore, it can certainly be overwhelming to scroll through social media and see all the cool things your friends are doing. Recognizing the influence that the Dartmouth "bubble" has on you and making an intentional effort to shape your own college experience can help make it much more fulfilling, and something I'm continuing to work on even in my last days here!
3. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, don't fall in the trap of doing something "next time". We all lead very busy lives at Dartmouth, and the ten-week quarters make each term fly by. Therefore, I often catch myself seeing a friend around campus and asking to get a meal later in the week, or to hang out when we're done with a specific assignment. Whenever possible, don't push things to "next time" and try to give the people you love your time in the present. Time truly flies by, and you never know how many "next time's" you'll have until you have to say goodbye.
I am very grateful for the memories and friendships that Dartmouth has given me, and hope to be back sooner than later. Until then, I'll scroll through my blog posts, reminiscing on all the places I went, and all the things I did. Goodbye, People Places Pines! It has been such a pleasure.
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!
