On campus, I am hyper-involved with the DOC, from Cabin and Trail (hiking) to Ledyard Canoe Club, I love leading trips and being outdoors as much as possible. Swipe through my posts for updates on studying abroad and traveling through college, student bands/a cappella, as well as the day-to-day updates of a 20yo who just recently started liking coffee (exciting, right?).
On my side of the woods, I like to think there are willow trees.
I immigrated to the U.S, from Brazil when I was ten, and the image of willow trees, specifically the ones found at Boston's Public Garden, has always followed my trajectory. These draping, descriptively "weeping"—willows were never a somber image to me. Instead, I liked to think of them as outreachers, their long stems reaching whichever way the wind blew them.
This is the exact tree at Boston Public Garden
I will admit, I was never easygoing. The college application process felt terrifying and foreign, but once I received the news that I'd be going to Dartmouth, I felt as though I could finally exhale. Don't get me wrong, I was so nervous for college. I must've scoured this same blog for hours looking for insight on student life and academics. I had planned on studying Government and Economics—which would later change—and made lists upon lists of the classes and professors I hoped to know throughout the next few years.
I'm not sure where these lists are now, but I am sure that I've accomplished much more than I ever thought possible in my first year and change at Dartmouth. I deeply appreciate how this school pushes me to consistently challenge myself—not from a point of dissatisfaction, but one of pursuing growth and change through discomfort. I have found, through exploration, a path of study that allows me to reach in the many directions that interest me.
Studying Government and Linguistics, I have found the academic means and support system necessary to define what I would like to do with my future, without the pressure of feeling like I'm running out of time. These departments have supported my intellectual growth through classes and research, whilst also encouraging my social development, and personal growth, through powerful conversation and even guest-speaker events that help me engage with professionals at the top of their fields.
This one time, Mike Pence taught one of my gov classes.
But I haven't just surpassed my academic hopes, this school and its many extracurriculars have pushed me to develop new loves and new skills while getting to know amazing, curious people. Prior to college, I wasn't very outdoorsy. I played sports growing up, but never thought I'd be paddling rivers and hiking mountains, slowly becoming more acquainted and enamored with the scenery of rural New Hampshire.
My friend, Kate, and I doing trail work in late fall!
More than this, I've become a leader in our outdoor community, which enables me to lead break trips to other places and help other students—from any and all skill-levels—get connected to the outdoors.
In terms of the arts, I joined an acapella group during my first fall, launching me into the vast world of artistic expression at Dartmouth. Through this open-minded view of how to engage creatively with the school around me, I was able to start a student band and become the artistic director of Dartmouth's Student Radio: WEBDCR.
A blurry picture of the Laundry Day concert I went to with the rest of the WEBDCR crew
Interacting with the arts while at school reminds me the importance of weaving your passions into your day-to-day life and there are endless possibilities and role-models for this on campus!
Lastly, and most importantly, this school has really changed me. I have been through hills and valleys, encountered friends I cherish, and solidified my own values by exposing myself to new experiences. This place makes me feel grateful and endlessly more okay with the premise of going with the wind. I am more like the willows than I have ever been, and I look forward to wherever the wind will take me next.
me and my oranges!
I hope I can be a strong representation of the good that comes from studying here and embracing that change.
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Gabe Brigham '26, a psychology and sociology double major, showed me around his dorm room, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
