Hey! I'm Owen from Hollywood, Florida and I'm a '24. My favorite activities are listening to music, running, and reading the same books over and over again. I'm an Earth Science modified with Physics major and Biology minor who loves "The New Yorker," the outdoors, and reading. On campus, I'm involved with hydrological research, the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, Hillel, Greek Life, and—obviously—this blog!
Academic Program
Major in Earth Science modified with Physics & a Minor in Biology
A freshman-only introductory biology class taught by an amazing professor who's super invested and wants students to make friends and develop a love of cell biology.
A really cool introductory Earth Science course that taught the basics of geology, Earth history, and paleontology: all in one super accessible course.
This class taught us the basics of the R programming language in order to use it to analyze real-life hydrologic data. In class, we got to analyze datasets about rain, river discharge, flooding, and acid rain, using only the skills we gained from this course with no prerequisites.
This discussion-based geography class was my first interaction with the Geography Department, which other students have been raving to me about. The class, which is cross-listed with African-American Studies, analyzes how locations shape black embodiment and identity. Super cool stuff!
After a week of sloughing through midterms, I signed up for a Friday afternoon trip to the Organic Farm through the Dartmouth Outing Club, hoping to start the weekend off right with an adventure to a place I'd never been to before. So, on Friday at 1:30 PM, I walked over to the Bike Shop, which—of course—was conveniently located in Fahey Hall, to meet up with the trippees and our leaders: all of whom I already knew (small school energy)! We grabbed some bikes and hit the road.
Since the O Farm is 3 miles away from campus in Lyme, going to the O Farm feels like a chill little getaway from the (sometimes) stressful academic environment of college. There's a barn, a couple greenhouses, and picnic tables, all of which really make the farm feel comfortable and open. Walking down to the plots where the fruits and vegetables are planted, we talked to a farm worker named Molly, who had us bring two broad forks, some rakes, and a wheelbarrow.
One of the trip leaders snapped this pic of me using the broad fork!
Molly told us that we were going to be preparing some plots for seeding using the broad forks and rakes. The broad fork works by digging in tines into the soil to aerate it in a way that results in minimal disturbance to the soil ecosystem. After using the broad forks, we also had to rake the soil to flatten it out for planting and then line the plots with mulch to prevent weeds from growing in.
Overall, I had an amazing time at the O Farm and am so happy that I get the opportunity to go to school with a farm. I've been excited by sustainable food systems for years and it's really cool that at Dartmouth I'm able to explore that interest more deeply by engaging with a farm so focused on sustainability. Plus, going to the farm is a ton of fun and they (supposedly) make amazing pizza.
Through Dartmouth's Guarini Institute for International Study, I am getting to take classes and experience life at Wellesley College, an all-women's school!
