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
As the name describes, this class taught me all about food! While the class is centered on teaching academic writing skills, I have definitely learned a lot about fun topics like food diversity, ethical farming, and culinary significances. For my final project, I got to write about how sauces relates to our society!
Blog note: Hello friends, if you're just clicking on this, this is part 3 of my 4-part Joshua Tree Diary Blog. If you're interested in reading the beginning of my adventure, click here for part 1 and here for part 2!
If you're not, that's okay too! This blog series is dedicated to my break trip—essentially outdoor trips led by our collegiate outing program during our interim breaks between terms. (Dartmouth Outdoor Club). For my break trip before this spring term, I went to Joshua Tree National Park!
Monday, March 19th, 2025
First morning at the campsite, I woke up to the sound of birds chirping—and the blazing heat (mostly the heat… our tent basically turned into a sauna overnight). For breakfast, we had oatmeal and yogurt, which, given the desert setting, felt like a strangely luxurious way to start the day. The weather was absolutely perfect, a welcome change from chilly Hanover—I was officially in vacation mode.
Eager to explore, I took a short 0.6-mile hike from our campground. Along the way, our trip leader, Ethan Greenberg '26, impressed us all with his birding skills, binoculars in hand. Spoiler alert: he's ridiculously good at this—he's identified over 900 bird species! He even runs an outdoor sub-club at Dartmouth called Flora and Fauna, which organizes trips to spot plants, animals, fungi, and fun rocks. If that sounds like your vibe, definitely check it out!
The main event of the day? Rock climbing. Not the extreme, pickaxe-required kind, but the natural, hands-and-feet scrambling over massive boulders behind our campsite. Our goal was to reach the summit, and after two hours of effort (and a lot of strategizing), we made it! Sitting at the peak, we had a quiet, meditative moment, listening to ravens and taking in the vast desert around us. Something about being disconnected from technology and fully present in nature was the perfect way to decompress after a tough winter term.
We also visited the Joshua Tree Visitor Center today, and checked out some merch before returning to the campground. We capped off the day with some team bonding and dinner—our outdoor meals are, as always, delicious.
Tuesday, March 20th, 2025
I woke up so sore from yesterday's climb, but there was no time to dwell on it—today was packed with adventure!
First stop: Skull Rock, one of Joshua Tree's most famous landmarks. It's exactly what it sounds like—a massive boulder shaped like a skull. Seeing it in real life, naturally sculpted by wind and water over thousands of years, was surreal. Mother Nature is an artist.
Alt: A man in shorts and blue shirt is hugging a huge boulder shaped like a skull.
But the real highlight of the day? Our second hike—to an oasis. Yes, real-life oases exist outside of movies! We trekked three miles through rocky desert terrain before suddenly arriving at a lush patch of trees and water. Our trip leader, Casey, explained the science behind it—Joshua Tree National Park sits on fault lines, where tectonic plates grind against each other and push groundwater up to the surface. The result? A hidden desert paradise: the luscious oasis you are seeing below:
Wednesday, March 21st, 2025
Moving day! Today, we packed up and relocated to our second campground. But first, we had to catch the sunrise together.
At 5:45 A.M., we stumbled out of our tents, wrapped in sleeping bags and huddling for warmth (desert mornings are freezing). Despite the chill, watching the sun slowly rise over the rugged landscape was magical—a moment of quiet beauty before the day's adventures began.
After that, we made a quick Walmart stop to restock groceries before heading to our new campsite in Cottonwood. Unlike our first location, Cottonwood is a lower-elevation flat desert—sadly, no more iconic Joshua Trees. But change is part of the journey, and I'm excited to see what's next!
