Hi! I'm Tacko Diop from Harlem, NYC. My Senegalese background has shaped my passion for social justice, which led me to double major in Government and African and American Studies. I speak English, Wolof, French, Arabic, and a bit of Korean. Outside of academics, I enjoy watching period dramas, reading, and spending time with family and friends. I'm drawn to Dartmouth's close-knit community and excited for the journey ahead!
Academic Program
Major: Government and African and American Studies
Hello! My name is Tacko Diop and I'm a '27 from Harlem, New York City! I'm a Senegalese first-generation student and a prospective biology major on the pre-med track with a potential minor in public policy. However, I'm also interested in so many other things, so I'm going to explore everything out there. Aside from English, I speak Wolof (my native language), French, Arabic, Korean, and a little bit of Spanish. In high school, I mainly played soccer, danced, learned to code, and led my school's National Honor Society. I wish to continue many of these activities at Dartmouth! During my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, watching period movies/dramas (I love history), and cooking. A fun fact about me is that I am very good at multitasking, so you can always catch me doing more than one thing at a time. My favorite color is green (not because I go to Dartmouth), and I love Afro beats. My favorite artists are Burna Boy, Tems, and Asake.
Some of the reasons why I chose Dartmouth:
Small close-knit community: My hometown, Harlem, is relatively small; everyone knows and supports each other. I attended a tiny high school, and I wanted something very similar for college as well.
Biology major: Dartmouth is known for being surrounded by nature and wilderness. As a prospective biology major, I have the opportunity to learn and discover.
Focus on undergraduate education: Dartmouth's specific focus on the undergraduate college, despite also having graduate schools for medicine, engineering, and business, really stood out to me!
FYSEP: As a first-generation student, I decided to join the FYSEP (First-Year Summer Enrichment Program) program here on campus. This program is designed to help first-generation low-income students through the many different resources the campus offers and assist them in navigating their way through Dartmouth and beyond. FYSEP was very enriching and insightful for me. While it did mean that I would have to move to campus a month before everyone else, I got to learn more about the campus first-hand, which gave me so much preparation. Without it, I wouldn't have known much about the numerous resources designated for students like myself. But most importantly, FYSEP gave me all of the tools needed to navigate my way through this new home. Coming from NYC, which is about 5 hours away from home, I don't have the privilege to go home to the family and friends I've known my entire life, so making a community here for myself was very important. Through FYSEP, I MC'd for the Intercultural night hosted by the program, visited my School House professor's home, and made amazing friends!
As a blogger, I wish to share many more of these experiences and bring you guys along through my journey here at Dartmouth!
Starting college is an exciting transition, but it can also come with its share of challenges. Luckily, students have access to a wide range of free mental health resources at Dartmouth, one of which is the Counseling Center.
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Greta Richardson '26, an engineering major, showed me around her room in her off-campus apartment, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
I wrote my "Why Dartmouth?" essay a little under two years ago, and I've had a year in-between to fully experience Dartmouth: how I've grown, changed, and how Dartmouth has been a part of all of it.
