你好！Or Hi! My name is Taylor, and I'm a '27! I'm from Beijing, China. I'm hoping to major in Mathematics Modified with Computer Science and minor in Religion. Outside of the classroom, you can find me going on hikes with the Dartmouth Outing club, drawing or crafting at the jewelry studio, or having fun, philosophical conversations with friends!
Academic Program
(Intended) Mathematics Modified with Computer Science, Religion
Coming to Dartmouth with a solid background in French (Delf B2), I find French 3 a perfect fit for me -- it helps me to consolidate a lot of key grammar and vocabs, and fun weekly cultural activities like coffee hours and french lunch table offers me chances to relax in busy times. While the class is very rigorous and requires a lot of hard work, my professor is so nice and makes the class very fun! I also look forward to going to Dartmouth's Toulouse LSA program after completion of this class!
This course explores how Buddhist concepts of embodiment affect daily life and society in Southeast Asian contexts, and how the intersection of religion, sexuality, and gender impact broader understandings of authority, wisdom, beauty, death, and loyalty. The class takes on many forms beyond mere lectures -- a visit to the Hood Museum of Art, mindfulness practices, and small Buddha-crafting projects. Our professor (the sweetest Prof. MK Long) also invites many of her colleagues at other institutes as guest lecturers to our class so that we can learn from real experts specializing in different countries in Southeast Asia. I have learned a lot from the class and decided to become a religion major after this course!
Having never enjoyed math classes before college, I'm surprised (again) by how I'm becoming a math major and falling in love with math here! My professor (Prof. Shu Longmei, who graduated from the best university in my hometown) is incredibly good at teaching the concepts -- not just explaining things clearly but also showing us the beauty and elegance of calculus. I really look forward to taking more math classes in the future!
SummerVietnam & Beijing, China
I first visited pagodas in Vietnam for a couple of weeks and had days of conversations with monastics! Then, I returned home to savor time spent with my family and old friends, focus on my mental and physical health, and study and work a bit.
New Hampshire is renowned for its breathtaking fall foliage, and this season, I finally checked off one of the top items on my bucket list: the Gile sunrise hike (or "Gile sunrike" as we Dartmouth students call it). Gile Mountain is a short, 1.5-mile hike, just a 20-minute drive from campus, but the experience it offers is anything but ordinary. At the summit, there's a watchtower that you can climb, and from there, you get a stunning panoramic view of endless forests and rolling mountains blanketed in fall colors.
I signed up for this adventure through the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) Trailhead, where the DOC organizes multiple hikes and outdoor trips every week. The sunrise hike I chose left campus at 6:10 a.m. and returned around 8:30 a.m., giving us the perfect window to catch the first light of day. DOC trips are where I've met some of my closest friends, and this hike was no different—it was a great opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces and meet new people along the way.
As we reached the top just in time for sunrise, the view was absolutely magical. The trees below were awash in vibrant fall colors, and a sea of morning mist drifted between the mountains. As the sun began to rise, its rays turned the mountains and valleys a rich, golden orange, creating an unforgettable sight. It was one of those moments that reminded me of Thoreau's words: "the sun is but a morning star." Watching the first light break over the horizon, casting its golden glow over the misty mountains and fiery foliage, felt like witnessing the world come alive in a quiet, powerful way.
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
