Andrea Agola

Daily Woccoms!

Woccom: noun. A walk around Occom Pond (Walk + Occom = Woccom). Often done with great company :)

This is yet another word to add to your inventory of Dartmouth lingo. Trust me, you can win some pretty nice prizes at the Lingo Bingo Night that's held during new student orientation in the fall. This spring term, my friends and I have been going on nearly daily woccoms! As spring has sprung (finally!!), we are taking advantage of the great weather and sticking to our pact of prioritizing our fitness and wellness. Not to confuse you, the above picture is of Occom Pond in the winter during the polar plunge.

My friends and I posted this picture of us on a woccom on the BeReal app.

Occom Pond is located at the northern edge of campus. The pond is named after Samson Occom, a Mohegan man from Connecticut. In 1765 Occom sailed to Britain to raise money to establish Dartmouth College. He was the first Native American minister to visit Britain and large congregations gathered to hear him preach. He was able to raise a total of 12,026 pounds sterling which ultimately funded the creation of the College. While I just learned about this history behind Occom pond and wasn't aware of it during my prior woccoms, now it definitely brings added meaning to the pond. Especially since it's always important to acknowledge that the college stands on Abenaki ground. 

I have really been enjoying woccoms because they enable me to be present in the moment, and appreciate nature as well as my friends. I always feel refreshed afterwards and very happy when we're able to catch the sunset. My friends and I have shared a lot of laughter as we go around. To the extent that I've had to stop walking and double over in laughter on more than one occasion. One of my lovely woccom partners, Aulanni Kidd ('26) says that she likes:

"Taking a break from the academic part of Dartmouth and being able to talk to friends about life. I get in my exercise for the day but it doesn't feel like a chore. The fresh air clears your mind. If it's a solo one, you just get time to yourself which is always needed. I love woccoms!" 

Whenever we have to rain check I try to go to Alumni gym. Just last week, I realized the gym had gotten new peloton bikes! I signed up for a free peloton account and went on to do two exhilarating rides with different instructors. During winter term, Occom Pond also served as an ice skating rink and one of my friends worked there. Emmanuel Kasuti ('26) told me, "It was a great experience. I used the trash can as a support to learn how to skate and only ended up falling down like twice. Ooh I also learnt about the different kinds of skates–recreational, figure skates and hockey skates. Figure skates looked the best but were for the most experienced people. Too bad I was not and am still not in that category. On the job, we had free chili, hot drinks, snacks and s'mores." While I never got around to ice skating, I can't wait to finally get my roller skates out from under my bed and go skate around the pond. What would that be? A roccom? Hmm, I don't know if that sounds quite right, but nonetheless I know the experience would be just as great.