Hey! My name is Taylor, and I'm a '27 from Beijing, China. I'm majoring in Mathematics and Quantitative Social Science, with a potential minor in French. Outside of the classroom, you can find me going on hikes with the Dartmouth Outing Club, in the Spare Rib office writing creative pieces, or reading books in Sherman library
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.
This is a really fun and engaging class taught by an award-winning professor. The mini-ethnography assignments provide a lot of hands-on experience in conducting fieldwork, making the methods we study feel real and applicable. From participant observation to interviews and field note coding, this course offers an immersive introduction to ethnographic research on religion. Plus, the discussions on research ethics and methodology are both thought-provoking and relevant, making this an incredibly useful class for anyone interested in studying contemporary religious communities through direct engagement.
This class is incredibly interesting because it feels like traveling through time—from the philosophical foundations of Laozi and Zhuangzi to medieval Daoist traditions and contemporary practices in northern and southern China and Taiwan. Even as a Chinese student, I’m realizing how much there is to learn, not just about Daoism but also about the broader religious landscape and practices in China.
QSS 17 offered a rigorous and creative introduction to data processing and visualization. From replicating Florence Nightingale’s iconic rose plot to designing animated graphics and exploring datasets that captured my own interests, the course deepened both my technical skills and my ability to communicate insights visually. It taught me not just how to make graphs, but how to tell compelling, data-driven stories.
SummerHong Kong & Beijing, China
I completed an internship in Hong Kong and spent the rest of the summer with my family in Beijing.
The class featured an incredibly engaging range of readings—from Virginia Woolf, Kafka, and Shakespeare to Almodóvar’s films, as well as theoretical works by Butler, Žižek, Lacan, and Freud. I learned a great deal from the diverse perspectives these texts offered and benefited immensely from the in-class discussions, which were always thought-provoking and inclusive. The professor also made a genuine effort to get to know every student (all of us invited him to the Pine restaurant for lunch during the term), creating a warm and intellectually stimulating classroom environment.
This class explores French art, music, and history from the Middle Ages to the modern period, offering a broad view of the country’s cultural heritage. I especially enjoy it because many classes are held in museums and cathedrals, where encountering artworks and architecture in their original settings makes the material feel immersive and vividly alive.
College life has a way of filling every corner of your calendar before you've had a chance to think. Between classes, research, club responsibilities, and the constant, wonderful pull of people you want to spend time with, a ten-week term can feel like it moves at breathtaking speed. But scattered throughout the noise, there are small, unhurried moments that somehow end up meaning the most. In this post, I'd like to share pictures that capture the quiet and peaceful side of our busy term.
When the weather is kind, there's nothing better than packing up my readings and finding a sunny patch of grass outside my dorm.
Some of my favorite evenings start with badminton and end in the kitchen—cooking with a friend after practice, falling into the easy rhythm of chopping, stirring, and talking about everything and nothing over a meal we made ourselves.
And when I need to truly step away, a run through Pine Park delivers exactly that—just winding trails, quiet trees, and enough stillness to remember that there's a world beyond the ten-week rush.
There was never a single "aha!" moment of clarity when I knew that Dartmouth was right for me, yet now, it is impossible for me to imagine having chosen anywhere else.
From a tight-knit study abroad cohort to intimate classroom moments and inspiring literary talks, French has grown far beyond a minor — becoming a thread that runs through the most meaningful parts of her Dartmouth life.
Green Key weekend at Dartmouth was filled with concerts, free food, live music, reunions, and spontaneous moments with friends. Read on to hear why this weekend reminded me what makes spring term at Dartmouth feel so special.
One of my absolute favorite classes I've taken at Dartmouth has been Cinematography I, which completely changed the way I watch films and think about storytelling. Read on to hear more about my experience!
