Hey all! So excited to see you here. My name is Sydney and I'm a '24 passionate about energy, education, the environment, and economic policy. I grew up in Southern California, but have also lived abroad in Gibraltar, Spain, and the Philippines. When not blogging or working at McNutt as a Senior Admissions Fellow, you can catch me involved in the Dartmouth Energy Alliance, Energy Justice Clinic, and Greek Life. I hope my blog can give you a window into Dartmouth from a student's perspective.
Academic Program
Majors in Economics and Environmental Studies, Minor in International Studies
Taught by Professor Tine, this class focused on many interdisciplinary topics within the field of education. I loved learning about the significance of early pre-K interventions on long-term behaviors, the layered complexities of the American public school system, the neuroscience behind how the brain processes new information, and much more!
As someone interested in international studies, this course opened my eyes to the complex world of global health – both the biological and social sides of achieving equity. I found this class especially applicable given the COVID-19 pandemic and often transfer knowledge from Global Health & Society into my everyday life.
Searching for Justice is a perfect blend of studying literature and law. Highlights from this course include an op-ed I produced on anti-Asian hate crimes and a fictional short story adaptation based on Japanese internment camps from Korematsu v. United States. This first-year seminar exposed me to many different court cases, and I’m now strongly considering a future career in law!
SummerClaremont, California
I spent my summer back home in Southern California, working at my high school alma mater as a Summer Fellow for their Junior Scholars program. I had a wonderful time designing curriculum for the Journalism program, planning activities for middle schoolers, and providing support in the dorms. I also spent quality time with my cousins and bonded with family by the beach.
I am an aquaphile, a lover of all things related to the water. This environmental studies course on Marine Policy was perfect for me because it dove into how humans have impacted the oceans. From coastal development to deep sea mining, we explored how to think like a policymaker and consider the many different stakeholders involved in global marine issues.
Wow, the Practice of Science Policy and Diplomacy was a blast! I was eager to get to class early every day for this Public Policy seminar. Professor Burkins introduced me to writing effective policy memos, participating in a Model Arctic Council simulation, and presenting our SDG 7: Affordable & Clean Energy recommendations with a state coalition.
Energy Justice examined issues of culture, power, and inequity in the necessary shift away from fossil fuels. Taught as a Social Impact Practicum, this class deepened my interest in pursuing a career in energy and environmental law. During junior year, I’m excited to continue working with Professor Kelly as a Presidential Scholar researching justice and accountability in corporate energy systems.
During my Sophomore Summer, I really enjoyed studying food systems and accessing Dartmouth’s Organic Farm as our lab for Professor Ong’s Agroecology course. It was an incredible New England summer experience learning to visualize data in R, conducting fieldwork outdoors, and working as a team on scientific research projects. A term highlight was tasting freshly tapped maple syrup from Dartmouth’s very own Sugar Crew!
I was one of six Dartmouth Economics exchange students at University College London this term. All four of my modules—UCL’s equivalent of classes—gave me a new perspective on Economics and Geography through a British lens. Economic History was my favorite as we studied industrialization, the demographic transition, and the East Asian economic miracle after World War II. I grew a deep appreciation for how the events of our past can offer important lessons for us today and into the future.
WinterNew York, New York
Since Dartmouth students typically spend their Sophomore Summer on campus, the D-Plan allows us to take a different term off to develop personally and professionally. I spent my off-term working as a corporate legal assistant intern at a law firm in New York City. It was such a thrill to live and work in the Big Apple! With many fellow Dartmouth '24s also in the NYC area, my days out of the office were full of yummy food, catching up with old friends, and exploring iconic city sights.
Drawing upon disciplines like law, psychology, and popular culture, Writing and Speaking Public Policy was all about becoming more persuasive communicators. Professor Kalish provided us with such thoughtful, detailed feedback on our assignments and arranged for class field trips to the Jones Media Center and Hood Museum of Art. I especially enjoyed the flexibility offered for our small group media campaign project, where I created a children’s book on the benefits of bringing universal pre-K to New Hampshire.
SummerMystic, Connecticut
During my junior summer, I interned as a Yale Conservation Scholar at Mystic Aquarium. Working in the Education & Conservation department, I mentored high school interns about marine science communication and public engagement. Besides attending weekly professional development workshops with the Yale School of the Environment, I also helped out with summer camps, traveling classroom programs, and citizen science projects.
I traveled to Southern Africa for the first time with Dartmouth’s Environmental Studies FSP. From conducting research on invertebrate diversity in the Namib Desert to speaking with community members at Uibasen-Twyfelfontein Conservancy, we studied Namibia's socio-ecological systems. Highlights from this incredible trip include experiencing game drives at Etosha National Park, discussing ecotourism at the Cheetah Conservation Fund, and learning about Namibia’s integrated coastal zone management approach with government officials from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
Econometrics was a pleasant surprise! While I came into this statistics-heavy course without a Stata coding background, Professor Fetter’s amazing explanations helped me feel confident about the new material. I learned so much about the assumptions required for causality and now feel equipped with the analytical tools to evaluate Economic research papers in an entirely different light.
While touring schools the summer before my senior year, the freshmen I talked to gushed all about Dartmouth's collaborative atmosphere. Now as a current sophomore, I thought I'd share how students here genuinely want to help lift each other up!
In classes, we are encouraged to work together for problem sets or join group tutoring through the Academic Skills Center where we can ask a more experienced upperclassman questions and help one another out. As I learned in EDUC 1: Introduction to Education (my favorite class of freshman fall), one of the best ways to study for exams is not by simply re-copying notes, but by actively testing yourself or—even better—working in groups to test others and have others test you.
I definitely applied that philosophy to my own studies. For instance, ECON 39: International Trade is my first higher level economics course at Dartmouth (last year I took ECON 1: The Price System - Analysis, Problems, and Policies along with MATH 10: Introductory Statistics to fulfill my statistics prerequisite for the economics major). When studying for my first International Trade midterm, I was nervous and didn't know what to expect. Luckily, I worked with my friends Adri, Z, Stephanie, and Leina to prepare. The night before the exam, we headed to the second-floor of Baker-Berry Library and tested each other on drawing graphs from memory of the effects of consumption taxes, production subsidies, and tariffs on the basic trade model. We reviewed the practice midterm and went through the list of concepts highlighted in our review session. When the test rolled around, I felt a lot better about it than I would have if I didn't study with my friends!
Adri works on our ECON 39 problem set and compares three countries, analyzing their imports/exports!
For my ENVS 3: Environment and Society midterm, I studied with two '25s Eiha and Sam along with my friend Scarlette. We compiled a Quizlet together and drilled one another on everything from the Clean Power Plan to the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program. During the test, I felt extremely prepared because of my study group's collective efforts and pooling together of resources. After the midterm, we decided to be a group for our data science project because we worked so well together helping each other study for our first exam! The data science assignment was super fun and required a lot of collaboration as we examined the effects of race, class, and environment on Louisiana COVID-19 mortality rates.
Eiha studies for the ENVS 3 midterm by physically writing everything she knows on the board by memory!
All in all, I am emphasizing Dartmouth's collaborative spirit because you may often hear about the importance of understanding "the culture" of the school, but don't hear about it too in-depth from a student's perspective. I'd describe Dartmouth's culture as incredibly tight-knit, supportive, happy, adventurous, flexible, kind, and last but not least—collaborative. Thanks for tuning in and that's all for now!
It's hard to believe that it has been a year since I wrote my first end-of-fall-term reflection. It felt like only yesterday that I stepped into my dorm room this September, eager to reunite with my friends.
Most students have to go back to college after Thanksgiving to take their finals, but not at Dartmouth! We have a six-week winter break, known as "winterim!" Let me tell you how I spent my winterim!
Applying early to a university can be overwhelming and confusing. As someone who did not apply to Dartmouth through early decision, here are a couple tips that I could have used when thinking about applying early to a school!
