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Yehalah Fernando

Class of 2026
An image of a student in a botanical garden
Bio 

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 sustainability. 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!

Academic Program 

Energy Engineering

Favorite Thing Right Now 

Watching movies with friends!

Hometown 

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Pronouns 

she/her/hers

You are here

Yehalah's D-Plan

What's a D-Plan?

    • FallHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: SART 015: Drawing 1

      Taking an art class has long been a dream of mine. Drawing 1 with Professor Enrico Riley exceeded my expectations greatly! He is an inspiring instructor who allowed us creative freedom, while guiding us in the right direction. We drew in different forms of charcoal, with colour introduced towards the end of the term. I loved my experience and I cannot wait to take another Studio Art class!

    • WinterHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: SART 025: Painting 1

      The sequel to Drawing 1 with Professor Enrico Riley! We worked in oil paint, which I was completely new to and admittedly afraid to use. I ended up falling in love with the medium and the flexibility it gave me to adjust and refine my paintings at any point in the process. I am sad to finish this class and I hope I get to take another Studio Art class in the future!

    • SpringHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: HIST 07.37: Race, Nation and Ethnicity

      Moving to America was a drastic adjustment, especially considering the difference in perception of race and ethnicity. This class gave me a insight into past and current American oppression against Black and Indigenous communities. I loved how much I learnt through this class, which was also my First Year Seminar requirement.

    • SummerColombo, Sri Lanka

      Taking a break at home with good food and family!

    • FallHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: GERM 1: Introductory German

      My first language class at Dartmouth! Taking German was intimidating, especially because of the fast-paced and rigorous learning method that Dartmouth uses. It was so interesting to learn the different grammar and rules used in the German language. I cannot wait to use my Beginner German skills in Berlin next Spring!

    • WinterHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: ARTH 38.01: Sacred Architecture of Asia

      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 material assigned was incredibly inspiring and taught me so much about South Asian religions and their beginnings. Everywhere I travel now, I think about the lessons I have learnt in this class and I am truly grateful to Professor Seher for facilitating an incredible learning experience!

    • SpringBerlin, Germany

      Favorite Class: GERM 44.07: Metropolis Berlin

      Learning about German history in Berlin was a great way to explore the city and culture! The class had weekly excursions where we visited important sites in Berlin, which was so informative and helpful. Overall, I learnt so many new aspects of Germany and the people who played a significant role in German history.

    • SummerPerrysburg, Ohio

      Interning at First Solar, a solar panel manufacturing company! I work on the Application Engineering team under Product Management, developing ways to better serve our clients and enhance our products. It has been an amazing experience so far, I have learnt so much and I am so grateful for this opportunity!

    • FallHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: ENGS 33: Solid Mechanics

      Solid mechanics is a class all about stress, strain and structure. My favorite part about this class was getting to design, 3D model and construct a wooden bridge from scratch! Using SOLIDWORKS to perform FEA analysis and a laser-cutting machine, my group and I put together a model bridge that held four times more that the desired weight! It was an awesome experience to put our classroom theory into practice. This has been the most exciting engineering class I have taken so far!

    • WinterHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: COLT19.01 Translation: Theory & Practice

      Taken for my language requirement, this class involved translating multiple documents from my native language (Sinhala) to English! I loved getting to know more about ancient texts in Sri Lanka, and finding out about words I had no idea existed. My final project was translating some scenes from the movie Gamperaliya (ගම්පෙරළිය), analyzing the language forms, and presenting them to the class!

    • SpringHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: ENGS 29: Computer-Aided Design and Kinematics

      Focused on Computer-Aided Design (CAD), this class took me from a beginner in SOLIDWORKS to passing the SOLIDWORKS Certified Associate test with a perfect score! We learnt about master modelling, kinematics and how to think about mechanical design. For our final project of making a walking dinosaur, I designed a pterodactyl!

    • FallHanover, NH

      Favorite Class: ARTH 29.06: Slow Looking in Paris

      I had the best time exploring art history in the center of the (European) art world: Paris! For 3 weeks, I bounced between Parisian museums such as the Louvre, Musée Condé, Musée d'Orsay, Palace of Versailles, and many more. For our final paper, I picked Imaginary View of the Grande Gallery in the Louvre in Ruins by Hubert Robert, with which I spent hours looking at, in an attempt to decipher its meaning and intent! I cannot emphasize how much I learnt about art history through this program and the guidance of Professor Katie Hornstein.

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Out and About in Berlin!

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As week five comes to an end, I find myself reflecting on some of the great experiences I have had on this study abroad. It is hard to believe that half of it is over, but I am so excited for the rest of my time here!

  1. No. 1

    Cooking a Zero Waste Vegan and Vegetarian Meal!

    An image of table laid with food

    An interesting experience I had last week was cooking with everyone in the program! One of the student's host mother is a chef and she guided us through a 5-hour cooking class. The objective of the class was to cook an entire meal with zero waste and no meat items. We were divided into six groups, each group making one component of the meal. I was in the group that made a dip for dinner. We chopped up bell peppers, onions and garlic, then blended them with soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Other components were fried mushrooms, pulled mushrooms, potatoes and onion patties, pesto and dip. It was a great meal, and it was interesting to learn how to minimise waste. 

     

  2. No. 2

    Olympiastadion!

    An image of four students standing in front of an enormous football stadium

    Last Friday, our group decided to go to a Berlin vs Hannover (Hannover, Germany, not Hanover, NH!) football game at the Berlin Olympic Stadium. Tickets were 31.50 EUR for students! As a part of cultural immersion, each student is given 80 EUR to spend on cultural activities in Germany. We met so many supporters on the train ride to the stadium who were wearing all the merch you can imagine. Hats, scarves, jerseys and even leather jackets with the team logo embroidered. We were inspired to purchase our own scarves too. One interesting part of the experience was that all cups used for drinks include a deposit of 2 euros which you get back if you return the cup! The game ended up being a tie between the two teams, and it was a great experience overall. 

  3. No. 3

    Berliner Philharmonie!

    An image of an orchestra in an huge theatre with a crowd

    This Saturday, we had the chance to visit the Berliner Philharmonie, a world-renowned orchestra. This was fully sponsored by the program! Everyone dressed up really well for the occasion, as most Berliners do. The affair was two hours long, which I anticipated may turn boring at some point. I am happy to say that I was completely wrong. The conductor and performers kept up a great energy and rhythm that had me captivated the entire time! The 10-minute standing ovations after each set were definitely well-deserved. 

Posted 05/15/2024 at 9:00 AMAll List Posts

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