Hey there! My name is Simon and I'm a Senior (which is scary) enjoying my time here in Hanover! In addition to being a Blogger, I am a Tour Guide, I am involved with Greek Life, the German community, Performing Arts, Club Sports, and a bunch of other things on campus! I blog a lot about whatever I am interested in at the moment, and also love to use this as a place to reflect on my time at Dartmouth. I hope you enjoy my blog and let me know if you have any questions!
I came to Dartmouth as a Bio-Medical Engineering hopeful, and after my first week in class with Professor Murphy studying the classics of political philosophy, I totally changed my mind! I had never taken anything even close to a philosophy class in High School, so this was an amazing opportunity for me to be exposed to a field that I had never seen, and now love! I also loved bringing in the work I did in my other class (German 1) to this class so that I could read some of the pieces in German!
With my new found love for Political Science, I decided to take one of the biggest requirements for the major, Gov 10. I worked with Prof. Horiuchi to do a really cool research project on the effect of fake news on American voters in the US! We actually looked into getting funding to work on the research and publish it in a journal. I was pretty worried about taking a super math heavy class, but it ended up working out pretty well.
This spring in Hanover was one of my favorite terms! I had my first Green Key (which was my first concert ever) and I got to work in the admissions department with all of our visiting admitted students! I ended up hosting 6 students across the 2 weekends of "Dimensions", our admitted students weekends and ended up getting really close with a few of them. I still see them around on campus and they have hosted students of their own now!
So I did kind of a crazy thing and decided that I wanted my first time abroad to be a fully immersive home-stay study abroad with Dartmouth! I flew almost 18 hours from Hawai'i to London where I stayed with a really good friend and fellow Sophomore before jumping on a plane to Berlin. My host family and I got on immediately over our shared love of Lucky Charms, and I skype them almost once a month still! I will never forget riding down the cobblestone streets in my suburb of Berlin every morning and stopping by the Backeri to pick up a muffin on my way to class. It was such a surreal experience and something I would never have thought of doing before I came to Dartmouth. Also, fun fact, I got my first tattoo in Germany!
I took this amazing class with Susan Brison where we not only analyzed case books and took an in depth look at how the constitution is interrupted in various ways by various justices, but also had visits from law professors from all around the world! The class worked really well for me because it met twice a week during the evening, so I had time to schedule other events during the day.
Through the help of one of my academic advisors and with the information I learned in my fall law class, I was lucky enough to get an internship at a non-profit law firm in my home town! I got the call while I was sitting eating breakfast in Collis, and because I was not in school during a time when a lot of other students are, I was the only intern and the first undergraduate intern the office had ever had. I got to work with the family law unit, and really made an impact that I was happy with.
On a limb, I decided to apply for a class that looked at indigenous ways of knowing and how they proceeded or are intertwined with scientific study. During this class, I got to scrape a moose hide to make a traditional drum, learn from one of the foremost black ash basket makers in the world, and do biodiversity studies on local streams. This class was definitely one of the best I have ever taken at Dartmouth, and professor Reo is now helping with an independent study project!
Junior Fall is turning out to be a really interesting term! I am suddenly an upperclassman and starting to look at what I want to do after Dartmouth, which is a really interesting thing to pursue. I am excited to meet the '22s and do all of my favorite Fall things, but also excited to be off next term and see where my plans take me.
This Winter I am back home, working for a law firm and spending tons of time with my family! My regular day starts with breakfast with everyone, going into the firm and working on some cases from about 9:00am-2:00pm, and then heading to the beach before coming home for dinner. I am super happy to be home, studying for the LSAT and getting some work experience, but am excited to get back to Hanover.
It feels kind of weird to be back on campus because most of my friends were also gone, so its this interesting amalgamation of seeing people for the first time in 4 months but also all getting re-acquainted with the campus we know so well. I'm excited to take some classes that are a little bit different than what I would normally feel comfortable with, and I will share all about them in blogs to come. I am ready for Spring so catch me outside on the Green or in the sun as much as possible!
For the first time since Sophomore Summer all of the '20s are back which can only mean one thing, its senior year! I am so excited to watch peek foliage from inside with some nice cold apple cider. I am taking two seminar classes to finish my double major, and am excited to jump back into academics. Hopefully, the cold will stay off just long enough for me to get some good fall runs in, but I am eagerly awaiting the first snow!
Over Memorial Day, I figured that since the weather was so nice, and we had a break from classes for the day I would try and plan a last minute adventure to get off campus and stretch my legs. Some of my friends and I decided to spend the day at the Quechee Gorge in Vermont, and it ended up being a great break from finals! We went wine and cheese tasting, hiked around the Gorge, got some amazing traditional diner food, and overall had a great day hanging out together. I thought for this week I would share some pictures of our trip, hope you enjoy!
This is the beautiful view from the Quechee Gorge Bridge which overlooks the Gorge itself. There is a walkway across the bridge so that pedestrians can stand and marvel at the beauty of the surrounding forrest and river. My friends and I watched a duck try and swim up-river for about half an hour just enjoying the sunlight and the warm weather.
This beautiful Bear-Chair was inside of an antique shop right above the Gorge. There were candy shops, a wine and cheese store, and even an alpaca rescue and store! My friend Malcolm and I could not resist posing for a quick picture before heading back outside.
The Quechee Gorge Dam was part of the area that I had not seen before, but also a beautiful attraction to look at. We found out that the Dam actually produces electricity for the village and the few store around the Gorge, which of course made the sustainability minor in me happy.
I don't get to get off campus every week, even most weeks actually, but when I do I make sure to savor the break and appreciate the environment outside of Dartmouth. Especially in the spring, there are so many beautiful attractions in New Hampshire and Vermont to visit, and a sunny Memorial Day is the perfect chance to do so.
As I write this I'm covered in my fluffy blanket, listening to a ~fall vibes~ playlist as the 36-degree crisp October air enters my room through my window. Obviously, fall in Hanover has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life!
The tree outside my door becomes more and more red each day, I ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks the other day, and on several occasions have stopped dead in my tracks to enjoy the beautiful New England foliage.
From meeting people from all across the world to working hard in the East Asian Reading Room in Baker Library until after midnight for a paper, I have gained various memories and experiences that have helped define my freshman year at college.
I saw my friends and professors in the people I pass on my runs, my classes slowed to a snail's pace but in a good way, and I hung onto every word each professor had to offer.
The fact that our professor gave us a free textbook of his own design is amazing. With Dartmouth having a ton of free resources, I figured I might as well use some on my younger siblings!
A lot of people are curious about how Dartmouth's location affects social life, but something else that I've come to realize is that because of Dartmouth's location, we have some really cool academic perks.
