Hi everyone! I'm Tess, and I live 30 minutes outside of London. I love everything Dartmouth, including the sunsets, the traditions, the classes, and the merch. I'm super excited to experience everything I read about in this blog over the next four years. 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.
The Dartmouth Ski Team is very good. This past winter (2025), at the NCAA Ski Championships—"our Super Bowl," as described by my skiing friends—hosted by Dartmouth, proved this. Dartmouth most recently hosted in 2003, so this was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime college event.
Can you guess where we go to school?
For some context, this winter, the Dartmouth Ski Team went undefeated on the East Coast circuit this season, winning all five ski carnivals as well as the EISA Ski Championships. So, we already knew they were the best team in the East. Now, it was time to see how they stacked up against West Coast teams.
D for Dartmouth!
It kicked off with the Opening Ceremony on a Tuesday, where all 23 teams paraded across the Green to Dartmouth Hall, led by our marching band. Each team was waving huge flags and was being cheered on by the crowd.
Wednesday was the first day of racing, starting off with the Alpine skiers racing slalom at the Dartmouth Skiway. Each team could qualify a maximum of three skiers per discipline per gender, and Dartmouth was one of only four teams to qualify the maximum number of athletes. Dartmouth finished the day in fourth place, with two All-Americans finishers (in the top ten).
Thursday was the 7.5km Nordic racing at Oak Hill Outdoor Center. This was an even more successful day for the Big Green, with all six of the racers finishing as All-Americans. Both men and women had two finishers in the top four, with Dartmouth taking the overall win in the men's! And so, this pushed Dartmouth to number one after day two…
Dartmouth reaching the finish line
Giant Slalom was up next on Friday, the first race I was able to attend. Dartmouth provided buses every 30 minutes to the Skiway, so I was able to pop over after my morning classes. My skiing friend Noemie was a forerunner for the course, so I got to cheer her on. And then came the NCAA racers. There were bleachers set up for the large portion of the student body that came out to support, and we made our presence known. The announcer was announcing the skiers and their teams as they came down the mountain, and when one of the six Dartmouth skiers came down, the whole crowd would scream and cheer. Dartmouth was in third place going into the last day.
The student band: "The Stripers"
The final day was the Nordic 20km skate at Oak Hill. Again, there were shuttles to take us to Oak Hill, only ten minutes away. Watching the skiers literally collapse at the end of the race hit home how hard they worked for this—I have so much awe for them. As this was the final day, the atmosphere was even more lively—food trucks, music, people. After the race finished, a student band performed, which was absolutely amazing! I love listening to live music, and even more so when it is Dartmouth students who are playing. The vibes were so good, everyone was happy to be there, the sun was out, and the burritos were awesome.
The aftermath of the Nordic race
And then the awards. They first crowned the Nordic skiers, and Dartmouth had two podium finishes. Next, it was the team awards. Dartmouth ultimately finished third! In the entire country! We are all so proud of our skiers, and I can't wait to see them win next season.
Dartmouth is not just a college. With world-renowned graduate schools, why would we choose to call ourselves a college instead of a university? The story behind that decision dates back to a significant Supreme Court ruling.
On a quiet spring Saturday in Hanover, I traded the usual campus buzz for Monet in the morning and archery in the afternoon—a reminder that Dartmouth weekends can be just as meaningful when they're slow, reflective, and a little unexpected.
During my sophomore spring quarter, I took on the challenge of four STEM courses, and while it has been intense, the unexpected connections across subjects and the joy of learning have made it one of my most rewarding academic experiences yet.
Read about the Sophomore Summer Soiree and how I got to witness the beginning of something that hopefully grows into a long-standing Dartmouth tradition!
Here is my list of the restaurants in Hanover within walking distance of Dartmouth. Whether you're touring campus for the first time or are a Dartmouth student in need of a new place to eat, feel free to reference this list!
As I approach the end of my first year at Dartmouth, I would like to reflect on some of the experiences and lessons I've learned throughout this school year.
