Hello, 你好, and Bonjour! My name is Tao; I'm from New York City, and I'm a proud first-generation student. I'm currently interested in studying applied math and learning a new language (French, with the intent of studying abroad using my D-Plan!) at Dartmouth. I love being immersed at campus–especially aesthetic Woccoms, fookie grubs at FOCO, and Baker-Berry Tower Room study sessions. Come one, come all: let me take you along!
Academic Program
Mathematics and Quantitative Social Science with a minor in French
Dear stranger (or soon-to-be friends), welcome to my blog! My name is Tao (as in "towel" without the "el") and I am a baker, adventurer, exclamation-mark enthusiast, and a first-generation Dartmouth student!
Let's start with the adventurer part—I'm quite nomadic. From the rural village of Fuzhou, China to the bustling city of New York City to the New-England-esque Hanover, I have been moving around places; on that note, I love taking photos everywhere I go, and I'm excited to share them with you throughout my Dartmouth experience! Fun fact: I am also a first-generation student and a QuestBridge Scholar. So, I'll be the first ever person to attend college in my family!!!
My QuestBridge Match Poster Photoshoot!
Throughout high school, I spent a lot of my time as a baker; I worked in a bakery and ran my bake sales. I'm constantly looking for new recipes (my last being gochujang caramel cookies, which I definitely recommend). In my free time, I also enjoy running—I look forward to the morning runs at Dartmouth since I'll finally be one with nature, which is very different from urban New York City.
Matcha-cheese tarts from the bakery I worked at, one of my all time favorites. I'm dusting matcha-heart-shape on top of them for a Valentine event!
Dartmouth has been magical. As a first-generation college student, one of the most inspiring experiences has been finding communities on campus! Over the summer, I was in the FYSEP program (First Year Summer Enrichment Program), a three-week program designed for both domestic and international first-generation, low-income students to transition into college. Outside of FYSEP, during this Fall term, I've also found communities of all sorts of extracurriculars: hiking and canoeing through the Dartmouth Outdoor Club, career exploration at Dartmouth Consulting Group, and now blogging at People, Places, and Pines!
I "am" a lot of nouns, and the list is inexhaustive. I look forward to updating the lists of "I am" as I venture into the woods of Dartmouth—whether "I am" canoeing with my friends or "I am" debriefing from studying abroad or "I am" taking new bizarre classes for the first time. Until then, as I've alluded to earlier, don't be a stranger. Welcome, again, to my blog and tidbits of Dartmouth
In my freshman year, I wrote a blog revisiting my decision of attending Dartmouth College. Now that more than a year has passed, I would love to revisit my decision again, with a more realistic lens.
As a practicing Christian, my faith has always been the foundation of my life. Coming into college, I didn't want to lose that essential part of my identity. I wanted to deepen it. That's when I found Cru — and it changed everything.
