I'm Kennedy, a literature nerd and creative writer from the outskirts of Memphis. I'm also a senior here at Dartmouth. When I'm not working in admissions as a senior fellow, I'm a student employee at the library and a research and teaching assistant in the English department. I love music (I collect vinyl!) and analyzing teen drama TV (think Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars). I'm currently applying to law schools. I've had such a great time at Dartmouth and am excited to share that with you!
Professor McCann is my advisor, but that's not the only reason I took this class. Since it was a senior seminar with only 9 students, we got to dive deep into the fascinating material, including with Victorian-era pulp fiction books, advertisements, and psychological treatises, plus some good old fashioned canonical works like The Picture of Dorian Gray and Dracula. [Fun fact: I've read Dracula three times at Dartmouth... it's an English department favorite!]
WinterHanover, NH
This was an off term for me, but I love Hanover so much I hung around anyways! I worked for admissions and Baker-Berry Library, read a ton of J.G. Ballard, and stared out the window at the snow for an embarrassingly long amount of time. I also visited my parents in Tennessee during Christmas.
Professor Nachlis went out of his way to act as an unofficial pre-law advisor for all of us in this class, not only by introducing us to some of the most pressing issues in American government, but also by dedicating the final two weeks of class to a module called "Should you go to law school?" A question I was asking myself!
SummerHanover, NH
Another off term again, and this time I'm working full-time for admissions as a senior fellow! I'm also doing a lot of preliminary reading for my honors thesis. Anyone heard of Friedrich Kittler's Discourse Networks? Well, I'll have read it twice by the time this term is over.
Con Law with Professor Bedi was one of my favorite classes at Dartmouth. Our in-depth examination of the Constitution and landmark case law built up a "science of the Constitution" (in Prof Bedi's words). Our class of 9 students rarely agreed on anything, which was what made it so fun!
My final paper for this class was an analysis of a civil rights leader's memoir that I actually worked on back during my internship at the University Press of Mississippi! I learned so much in this class, and it was gratifying to return, now with new knowledge, to a text I had a personal relationship with.
I'm a '24, which means my time here is sadly coming to an end. Very soon, in fact. I've written before about my interest in law, and I also mention in nearly every information session I give that I just got done applying to law schools. Well, the cycle is over, and after visiting Duke Law this weekend, I have committed to attend this upcoming fall!
But this post isn't to tell you about Duke Law, as excited as I am about going there. Instead, I want to reflect a little on why I chose law school as my next step and, more broadly speaking, how Dartmouth helps you figure out where you're going next.
When I first stepped foot on campus, I had about five million possible careers in mind and no idea of what they entailed or how to break into them. While I was a first-year, Professor Deutsch (who taught my Writing 5 class) took the time to chat with me about her former career in publishing. She guided me to what were, in her opinion, the best possible internships in the field, and based on her advice, I worked for University Press of Mississippi for about six months during COVID-19. While I loved that experience and my coworkers there, I also realized publishing is not for me for a variety of reasons. I had a similar experience at the Naval Observatory's library, where I got to try my hand at library sciences and archival work. Again, it was super fun for the short term but not aligned with my interests or goals in the long term.
I've had several professors in the English department give me career advice, including a look into what their own careers are like. English academia and teaching were both of interest to me, and Professor Edmondson was helpfully honest about what academia is like as a career, especially in the humanities. And I once again realized that career path was not for me, either.
Law was one of my potential careers I hadn't done research on at this point, so I pulled up the Dartmouth alumni directory and reached out to a lawyer, who generously spoke with me and emphasized that he LOVED practicing law, that law school was hard but didn't have to be grueling, and that a JD could be quite flexible. I wanted to learn more, so I took Professor Nachlis's government class Law, Courts, and Judges. Not only did I learn that I found law fascinating, I also learned that far more people have a hand in shaping and making the law than just elected officials. Judges and their clerks, lawyers, government employees, and academics can all shape the legal system for better or for worse. The next government class I took was Professor Bedi's Constitutional Law, which reaffirmed for me that I found this stuff extremely interesting (and that I was capable of reading cases). Professors Nachlis and Bedi both talked to me about law school, and their honest and encouraging advice gave me the confidence to apply.
When the law school decisions started rolling in, I had a few choices to make and once again needed the advice and viewpoints of those who had been through it before. One professor introduced me to her brother, who had attended Duke Law, so I could talk to him about his experience. Multiple Dartmouth acquaintances and friends connected me with their parents, who also worked in the legal sphere. When he heard I was going to Durham soon, a Dartmouth '21 (admissions officer Kevin Donohue, actually) introduced me to a Dartmouth '20 who was getting her PhD at Duke so I could get lunch with her. I also ran into SO many Dartmouth alumni during the law school open houses I visited. Multiple times, a stranger saw the Lone Pine on the back of my phone case and said, "Dartmouth? I went there!"
If you want to know whether a career might be for you, doing it yourself is the best way to find out. But if you can't do that, talking to people in that field is also extremely helpful. This is where the huge and dedicated network of Dartmouth alumni comes in. The network of Dartmouth students, staff, alumni, faculty, and their friends and family is invaluable for learning about any career you're interested in.
Academics can be challenging at Dartmouth. But there are lots of groups across campus here to support you through your academic journey. Read on for my experience asking for help and a few organizations that might be helpful to you!
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
As a senior, one of the most exciting things for me is my thesis project. In this blog, I describe how to approach making a senior honors thesis. As Dartmouth focuses on their undergraduate research, many students complete a thesis, so let's dive in!
Coming back to Dartmouth for my senior year, I have been loving pursuing my major. However, what I love about the liberal arts education is that you can take classes for interest far beyond any classes in your major.
It's been (almost) a full year since I was in your (figurative) shoes! Let's take a trip down memory lane and dissect my Dartmouth application process. Part one of a long journey!
