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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 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!

Academic Program 

Energy Engineering

Favorite Thing Right Now 

Learning how to Ice Skate!

Hometown 

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Pronouns 

she/her/hers

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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!

Weekend Shenanigans

A weekend of embracing the cold and finding fun activities to do! From winning money at a game show to the Annual Snowball Fight, this weekend is a core memory of my experience with Dartmouth winters!

  1. No. 1

    Collis Game Show

    An image of four students sitting on a stage behind a screen that features a Jeopardy game.

    Our first stop this weekend was the Game Show hosted by Collis After Dark, a program that runs free late night events for students in the Collis Student Center! Featuring famous game shows like Price is Right and Jeopardy, it was a night to win big. My friends and I all won prizes, ranging from $50 to $250! With popcorn and drinks, it was a great way to relax and enjoy a Friday night at Dartmouth. These types of events are free and open to all students!

  2. No. 2

    Ice Skating Occom Pond

    An image of two students standing in ice skates on a frozen pond

    Next up this weekend was ice skating at Occom Pond! Occom Pond is a small lake within Dartmouth that is a 20 minute walk from the heart of campus. The Dartmouth Outing Club House is next to the lake and gives out free rentals for ice skates. We headed down to test our ice skating skills but ended up staying for the hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows! Occom Pond was completely frozen over, but still had snow and was too bumpy for my amateur skills. Luckily there were dustbins at hand to help us!

  3. No. 3

    Winter Crafts at Collis

    An image of a painting of a sea from the roadside, with boats on the water and land in the distance.

    On Saturday night, I attended another Collis After Dark event, featuring a DIY Winter Crafts Session! This event included DIY snow globes, giant paper snowflakes, paintings and Build-a-Bear! I spent the night painting a scene from the South of Sri Lanka.

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Posted 02/16/2025 at 9:00 AMAll List Posts
An image of a student holding a water bottle and weaning a beanie that reads "First-Gen Proud"

First-Gen Week!

The first-generation community at Dartmouth is an extremely tight knit and supportive community! This past week, we celebrated first-gen week, with a myriad of activities and lots of chances to meet new people!

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Posted 02/13/2025 at 9:00 AMAll Text Posts
An image of a sunset in Sri Lanka near the ocean

Back Home

My journey home for winter break (winterim) after an entire year of being away from family and friends! The winter break is six weeks from late November to Early January, and students may stay on campus with provided housing and meal plans.

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Posted 01/24/2025 at 9:00 AMAll Text Posts
An image of an orange and pink sunset with rolling hills that have red green and yellow trees

My First Gile Hike

Even though it is my third fall at Dartmouth, I had never been to Gile Mountain. This week I remedied that and caught the most beautiful sunset!

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Posted 11/6/2024 at 9:00 AMAll Text Posts

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