Hi all! Welcome to my very public blogging page! I am Toni Fabian '25, the middle child of my family, from a small town in sunny Southern California. I plan to study economics and human-centered design. I am passionate about culture, educational equity, and social justice. I will be writing about all things Dartmouth, from the infamous FOCO cookies to the resources and opportunities offered here on campus. I am truly so excited to bring you along with me while I navigate my college journey!
Academic Program
Intended majors: Economics and Sociology; Intended minor: Human-Centered Design
Each week I was responsible for completing problem sets, quizzes, classwork, and discussion boards. Every week we related what we learned in class to the real world. For example, we read about food banks and their past struggles with efficiency. As a class, we discussed solutions and delved deeper by asking questions and collaborating with each other. I loved this class a lot because Dr. Petre made learning really fun and is so kind! I learned a lot of information ranging from different elasticities of demand and supply to the indicators of poverty. This class was awesome!
For my FYS (First-Year Seminar), I took a history course called Gender and Urban Transformation (9L slot). Our class discussions drew from primary sources and historical analyses that dabbled on gender and its intersection with race, sexuality, and class in the development of U.S. suburbs and cities. Essentially, we explored urbanization and suburbanization as a multi-gendered process. I developed my research skills as I drafted an annotated bibliography, book review essay, and prospectus on the Chicano Movement's impact in the realm of higher education from the 1960s to the present in California, Texas, and Chicago. I learned a ton, I am so happy that I took Professor Rabig's course!
Sociology 1 is the introductory course for the Sociology major, and I loved this class so much! We had a ton of class discussions and the material was very insightful. We were assigned a term-long discussion group, and my group leader was so kind and knowledgeable. We analyzed and discussed the reasons behind class stratification, power dynamics, and social and economic inequalities in society. This class has truly helped me further develop my sociological imagination and changed my perspective in life. :)
For the entire summer, I interned for Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano (SJC). Breakthrough SJC is a non-profit organization situated in Southern California that aims to close the achievement gap for underrepresented and underserved students. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have served as a teaching fellow this summer and for Dartmouth's support in preparing me for this amazing and unforgettable experience!
I am writing this blog post as I enter the final week of my internship at Breakthrough SJC. Altogether, I am very lucky to have learned so much from this opportunity and am very excited to embark on my second year at the College. As the summer program is concluding, I wanted to reflect on my experience from the summer program. I met so many kind, amazing, and bright students at Breakthrough. I consider myself very lucky and fortunate to have served as a teaching fellow and mentor to my students. As the summer program concludes, I will bring the experiences and perspectives learned with me as I return to Dartmouth.
I want to utilize this blog post as a space to offer tips and advice to '26s, as they embark on their transition into their first year. Firstly, welcome to the woods! My biggest advice is to live in the moment and to cherish every day. The terms and seasons go by very quickly, so make sure to not fall behind on your commitments. Also, make sure to reach out to your professors—they're amazing and kind people that want you to succeed. In addition, take advantage of teaching assistants, office hours, and the many resources and opportunities offered here at Dartmouth.
As I reflect on my first year, I took the time to take classes that I genuinely was interested in and made sure to immerse myself in the material. Don't worry a ton about your distributive and world culture requirements in your first year; they will be completed as you take your courses throughout the years. You will be assigned a Dean and a pre-major advisor. Make sure to utilize friends that took those courses previously and gain their insight and experiences from those classes. Thank you for reading this blog post, and I will see you all next week!
It's easy to forget how easy it is to access walking trails during the hustle of a Dartmouth term. As graduation nears, I am reminded of how special it is to step off campus and enjoy quiet moments in nature.
With a solar eclipse sweeping across North America for the first time in nearly seven years on April 8th came a road-trip with hundreds of other Dartmouth students to a zone of totality near campus: St. Johnsbury, Vermont!
After returning from an enriching study abroad program, I'm diving into a bustling spring semester here at Dartmouth. Here are my four courses I'm taking this term!
Dartmouth's liberal arts curriculum pushes students to explore new departments and draw connections between seemingly disparate disciplines. Come explore my Economics, Physics, and Asian, Societies, Cultures, and Languages classes!
