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!
My freshman year, I wrote a blog post about skiing and how easy it was for Dartmouth students to do so! You can find the blog post here, but I wanted to revisit the topic of skiing now that I'm a senior at Dartmouth.
First of all, I mentioned Freshman year that I spent a weekend visiting a friend in Vermont, where we went skiing! Funnily enough, I just visited him again exactly four year later! We had a great time catching up, and I gave him a tour around Dartmouth when he dropped me off.
However, while my ski trip to Vermont during my first year was my only skiing experience that year, I have really committed to going skiing more this year. Since it's my last year, I decided to buy an Ikon pass, which gives me unlimited access to several of the mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire. Although it's usually a very pricey pass, I got a college student discount which is available to everyone at Dartmouth! With the pass, I've been skiing every week and have visited several mountains! The mountains in Vermont are only around an hour away, which makes a drive back and forth very doable on both weekends and weekdays.
If however, you're worried about the big mountains being too far or too expensive, don't worry! Dartmouth is one of the few colleges that has a skiway, which I visited yesterday and had a great time at. The Skiway has discounts for all students, and you can rent ski gear and buy a daily pass for less than $50! An affordable and convenient skiing experience is such a bonus, especially for people who are just learning how to ski. One of my friends just started learning this year and is enjoying taking weekly ski classes at the Skiway. These classes are also super affordable, and you can even get financial aid for them!
Group selfie on the mountain!
My freshman year, I immediately realized that skiing was a very accessible activity at Dartmouth. Four years later, that still remains the reality. However, I've also learned how easy it is to learn how to ski here, and to customize your skiing experiences to your preferences. Do you want to stay close and ski mainly on the Dartmouth Skiway? Get a season pass (there's a first-year discount) and get there through the campus shuttle, which runs every day! Do you want to go a bit further and ski one of the bigger mountains? Get a group of friends together and make the drive up! Although I don't have a car on campus, I have been able to find friends who are willing to go together, both on weekdays and weekends.
Altogether, skiing (or snowboarding) is a really fun experience that is usually only accessible through a carefully planned and pricey ski trip. At Dartmouth, I can decide that I want to go skiing the night before, and make it a reality! Students of all backgrounds can find a skiing experience that works for them, and I think that's really great. No matter your experience or budget, I'm sure you can make skiing a fun part of your winter Dartmouth experience if you would like. So how easy is it to ski at Dartmouth? I couldn't imagine it being easier!
An early Saturday ski trip - we got back to campus by 4pm!
As a second-year at Dartmouth, I've embraced leadership roles that foster community, creativity, and support! Here's a look at how each role has shaped my journey.
