Welcome to the blog of an Englishman studying at Dartmouth—do take a look around! Hopefully, my blogs will provide you with an insight on life at Dartmouth, and specifically through the eyes of an international student. Dartmouth has a ton to offer from the staggering natural beauty of its surroundings and stellar academic programs to the wonderful people you meet along the way. So stay a while, I'll make us cups of tea, and take a moment to discover life at the College on the Hill.
Dartmouth is a busy place. After we take into consideration classes, homework, mandatory readings, eating food (and of course hydrating), laundry, and of course socialising, you really don't have that much time left in your schedule! For this reason, what we choose to do with our spare time is an important and valuable decision. I am currently involved in a few ECs (as can be found out about in other blogs), but if the reasons I have already covered are not enough to convince you to get excited about being involved in ECs at college, hopefully this will be.
Extracurricular activities and clubs can be great for a number of reasons; you get to gain hard skills, possibly enter a leadership position, maybe compete, and spend more time doing the things you love outside of the classroom. The best part, though, is that you get to meet new and like-minded people! Dartmouth itself is a small and tight-knit community, and there are plenty of people to hang out with, but clubs and extracurriculars can provide a pretty unique experience in that you are often with a tiny group of people that you share common interests with, and can provide a strong friend group throughout your time here!
Another EC of mine: going to the gym!
I personally am involved in ushering at The Hopkins Center for the Arts, the Dartmouth Investment and Philanthropy Program, the Rockefeller Global Leadership Program, running a radio show, and (of course) being a blogger! Through these groups, I have met a tonne of people who of course are completely different from one another, but the super cool thing is that they all fit with me in some way. Through clubs, you are able to diversify your friendship portfolio (okay Mr. Economics), and meet people you perhaps never would have met!
My global leadership program, for example, is purposefully set up to be a mix of people from completely different backgrounds, meaning I am not only developing my intercultural skills, but gaining new and amazing friends! I've also met a bunch of people through blogging (we have a termly meetup with free food), and through ushering! I overall think that although time is scarce here at Dartmouth, and it seems easy sometimes to just sleep more, one of the best things you can do at college is get involved in the communities around you!
In this blog, I share how joining Ujima, Dartmouth's oldest hip hop dance team, became not just a creative outlet but a family built on collective work, responsibility, and love.
To the Class of 2030: Congratulations! For those of you who are still making a decision, this blog is intended to give you some tips from my own experience of being in your fortunate (but difficult) position.
