Hi everyone! I'm Yehalah and I'm a '26 coming all the way from Colombo, Sri Lanka. My academic passions lie in Energy Engineering and Environmental Studies. I am a first-generation and low-income student, actively involved with the community. I love to paint and read during my free time. I'm excited that you're here, and I hope you enjoy this account of my life at Dartmouth!
The sequel to Drawing 1! Undoubtedly harder, but definitely a great class. I can now say, with confidence, that I am able to paint a mango successfully.
The Sacred Architecture of Asia is one of the most incredible courses I have taken at Dartmouth! The course is primarily discussion-based, with Professor Seher explaining and initiating conversation about the course material.
The King Scholars Program at Dartmouth is a scholarship program for low-income international students who express interest in alleviating poverty in their home countries. I was lucky enough to be chosen as a part of the Class of 2026 cohort! We receive a four-year scholarship and leadership training throughout our four years at Dartmouth.
For freshman and sophomore years at Dartmouth, King Scholars have Leadership Week, which occurs a week after the end of the fall term. This is where we meet leaders and companies in international development, as well as Dartmouth Alumni in the area. Leadership Week occurs in either Washington DC or New York, alternating each year. Since we went to New York last year, this year we took a trip to DC!
Some important places we visited were the US Capitol building, the World Bank and USAID. Here, we spoke to employees and heard about their inspiring experiences with initiating global change. It was interesting to observe the winding career paths of most people and how they ended up working in social justice. With all the sophomores declaring majors at the end of next term, this week gave us a lot to consider when making that decision.
Throughout this week, we were given leadership training that included assessing our leadership strengths and using them to the best of our abilities. Leadership week has helped me hone my critical thinking skills as we are challenged to think creatively when problem-solving.
In addition to professional development, we also got to explore DC. A highlight of the week was going all the way to the top of the Washington Monument! The view of a powerful city from above was extremely exciting, despite the biting wind.
The view from the top!
It saddens me that this will be my last leadership week, but I have definitely learned a great deal from them!
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!
Over half of Dartmouth students study abroad at least once during their undergraduate journeys—quite a high percentage, right? Do you want to know how to best prepare for your own abroad experience? Come check what it was like for me.
