Hi there! I'm Nathan, a '27 from Lynn, MA (just outside Boston). I'm an intended Engineering Sciences Major and Studio Art Minor—I like to understand, design, and create things. I also love reading about history, writing, and photography (hence this blog). On-campus, I'm involved in the Triathlon Team, French Living Learning Community (LLC), and Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship. Explore my posts for an inside perspective of everything Dartmouth has to offer!
My name is Nathan Hammerschmitt Le Gal (Yes, it's quite a mouthful). I'm a half-French Massachusetts native raised just outside of Boston. I've grown up largely caught between American and French culture—an experience that has inspired me to fine-tune my sourdough bread baking skills.
Beyond attempting to continue my pursuit of bread-making here at Dartmouth, I plan to explore my interests through a combination of biology, engineering and anthropology while still dabbling in—almost—everything. I'm looking forward to broadening my knowledge in these areas through Dartmouth's liberal arts curriculum. In high school, I satisfied my curiosity through WAY too many google searches, Youtube videos, and podcasts, so I'm enthralled by the manner in which Dartmouth fosters academic discovery. We have what are called class distributives, which means the curriculum has built-in space for you to refine your interests!
Extracurricular-wise, I've been spending my first term trying out the Triathlon team, getting to know about entrepreneurship opportunities from the Magnuson Center, and exposing myself to international relations programs from the Dickey Center. I'm also excited to get involved with the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC), which offers nearly all forms of self-propelled transportation through outdoor trips! Fall term I can hike, Winter term I can ski, Spring term I can paddle, and Summer term I can do anything! By the way, Dartmouth is on a unique quarter system called the D-plan—that's why there's four seasonal quarters.
No matter what I do, though, this blog is an unedited version of my Dartmouth experience. It's about the people, places, and pines as I see them. Please join me as I document what life in the Upper Valley, Hanover, and (of course) the Dartmouth community is like. I'll bring you along for tea in Sanborn library and show you the best study nooks for winter reading. I hope reflecting on my college journey and my college search, will provide you with an inside look at life in the near future.
This term, I competed in the annual Speech at Dartmouth competition, but would never have had this opportunity without the support of Dartmouth faculty. Read on as I share how I got here!
Dartmouth has so many academic resources, including free newspaper subscriptions! Although this may not seem like a big deal, it's a great accessible way to learn about local and national news!
Dartmouth requires all students to take three PE/Wellness classes in order to graduate. Upon hearing glowing recommendations, I chose to take the wellness sampler offered by the Student Wellness Center as a way to fulfill this requirement.
