Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog, also known as my digital diary. I'm majoring in Asian Studies modified with Business, a new program here at Dartmouth, so feel free to ask me anything related to that. Beyond the classroom, I love the Dartmouth sunsets, the traditions, the classes, the merch, and the people, of course. Come along with me as I explore the ins and outs of life in the woods.
A course that definitely surprised me, I did not know what to expect and had very little philosophical knowledge before taking this course. It was a mixture of current and past readings, with the final project to make a group video, testing my technological ability. Professor Bumpus was amazing, and I got to know her more when I took her to breakfast at Pine through the Take Your Professor to Lunch Program.
I was recommended to take a history course, specifically a history course with Professor Lu, and it has not disappointed! This course is cross listed with Asian Studies, my major, but it has made me consider a history minor... We start every class off with a song relating to the topic of that class, and then we move on to discussion based activities.
So far, the Dartmouth classes I have taken have been all based around discussion and essay writing. As an Asian Studies and Government major, I expected that the rest of my time at Dartmouth would follow a similar pattern, but in fact a pre-requisite for the Government major is a Political Analysis class. This class involves coding, analyzing survey samples, and other quantitative methods. The professor is amazing—a friend and I got to know him better by taking him out to breakfast at Pine through the 'Take Your Professor to Lunch' program. The final group project involves making projections for the 2024 elections using past data. Although, obviously, this election already happened, some of our predictions were more accurate than the polls! It is super interesting to take a class that I can see the themes in real world news outlets.
Great Issue Scholars (GIS) is a year-long program for first years interested in enhancing their understanding of the world and current international events through engagements with interactive events that explore global issues. The Dickey Center for International Understandingorganizes this program, among other events, internships and opportunities. GIS collaborates with faculty, visiting experts, and alumni to gain a closer understanding of international challenges.
There are three main thematic areas, each being explored over the course of a term. These include International Security & Peacebuilding, Global Health & Development, and The Environment & Arctic. If a student finds a particular theme interesting, Dickey offers year-long programs with a more in depth focus for each theme for upperclassmen. Around ten events are held each term, ranging from roundtable discussions, to simulations, to overnight retreats.
An aspect of GIS that stands out is its in-residence program. Over the summer, incoming students were able to apply for special GIS housing, occupying two floors of an on-campus dorm. The other cohort of GIS is non-residential, which I participated in.
Trip time!
A highlight of GIS is the yearly retreat to Camp Hulbert on Lake Fairlee. About 30 minutes from campus, we went at peak fall foliage time. We arrived after Friday classes and went to our cabins to unpack. That evening, we had a wonderful home-cooked meal, followed by a guest speaker. Following that, there was karaoke, ping pong, and in a typical camping fashion, smores!
The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we got stuck in with team building activities. My favorite was blindfolded crab walking dodgeball. Let me break it down for you: We are put in partners, with one person being blindfolded. The blindfolded person enters 'the arena,' and assumes a crab position. Their objective is to hit other crabs with the dodgeballs, all the while avoiding being hit. The partner directs the crab from outside. After this welcome break from the busy-ness of campus, I definitely felt closer to my fellow GISers.
Overlooking Lake Fairlee
Another GIS event that I particularly enjoyed was lunch with Russian dissidents Vladimir Kara-Murza, Evgenia Kara-Murza, and Tikhon Dzyadko. Earlier in the week, I had attended a large public event at which they spoke, but was unable to ask a question as there was such a large crowd. When I found out that GIS was hosting a lunch with them, I had to go. There, with about twenty in attendance, I was able to interact and ask them questions. This happened several times throughout the term—Dartmouth was hosting someone prominent, and as part of GIS, I was able to attend a smaller function with them.
Although out of the three themes I was primarily interested in International Security & Peacebuilding, it was incredibly interesting to explore the other themes. During our third term, we paid a visit to the ice core labs. In order to explore differences in climates, we examined ice cores obtained by Dartmouth's very own Arctic sciences.
GIS is a relatively large cohort, with about 100 first years selected. For me, GIS was another community on campus where I was able to find my people. At every event I attended, there was someone I knew, and someone I didn't. Additionally, through the various programming, I was able to gain a closer understanding of global issues, through the lenses and perspectives of the wonderful scholars that we interacted with through GIS.
My off-term in Hanover full of winter magic: I'm already daydreaming about the annual snowball fight, hot-cocoa fueled Woccoms (walks around Occom Pond), and cozying up in the Tower Room with a good book.
At most colleges, midterms begin in mid-October, but Dartmouth's 10-week quarter system means they can begin as early as week 3. With the right habits and resources, you can balance your workload with wellness.
