Welcome to my page, I am a '27 from central New Hampshire! I came to Dartmouth for the liberal arts curriculum, so I plan to explore the academic disciplines before deciding what to focus on. I am currently looking at environmental science and religion. In addition to blogging, I work as an Interfaith Trip Fellow with the Tucker Center for Spiritual and Ethical Life. I enjoy mountain biking, running, skiing, singing, and drawing.
Academic Program
Intended: pre-health, anthropology, environmental studies, and religion.
This discussion and reading-based class was incredible and relevant! Content ranged from the historical impact of the printing press to AI in the workforce and transhumanism, and all of the topics were grounded in religion and some of the frameworks religion provides. I pondered on ideas from this class all the time.
I was captivated by the first class meeting of the term reading Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' and eventually chose to focus on it for my research paper at the end of the term. All of the readings captivated my attention, however, Kafka, Han's 'The Vegetarian', and Kristeva were the authors that made the biggest impression on me. The class discussions resulted in wonderful insights relevant to humanity at a macro level. My favorite aspect was our professor instructing us to focus on the ideas before picking apart the writing style.
This class made me think about the bigger picture of health in a systems focus. Ultimately this class helped me realize that there are a lot of structural health system challenges in the U.S. and around the world. I particularly liked learning about the histories and anthropological side of things. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were my favorite topic in the class because the frameworks are very limited, so some do not receive enough focus and funding.
My Spanish language study abroad was wonderful. In addition to improving my Spanish proficiency, I learned a lot about the culture and history of Spain- especially in the autonomous community (region) of Cantabria where Santander is located. My favorite class on this trip was literature, every class had a different theme relevant to the history and culture of Spain and this was explored with movies, videos, and readings that resulted in some great insights during class discussion. The homestay aspect and excursions bolstered the conversational and cultural aspects of the LSA.
This class sits at the center of the two interests that I have chosen for my modified major, anthropology and environmental studies. There are a few reasons I love this class. First and foremost, there is a SIP fieldwork aspect to it (I wrote a post about this!) which means I can experience local communities and have a tangible impact. Next, my professor has a wonderful design for the content and structure of the class. Also, I am genuinely excited to learn about the content and perspective this course utilizes by considering the many dimensions of disaster. I particularly like exploring the historical factors that turn a scenario into a disaster, and how that can be prevented.
As I am in the finals week of my fifth term in a row, this seems to me to be a very fitting blog post. Amongst the strong emphasis on academics and awesome extracurriculars and jobs I am experiencing at Dartmouth, there are also many social moments. This term I have been fortunate to enjoy time with friends, photography, mountain biking, hiking, time at the Hood Art Museum, a weekend at home since I live nearby, and exercising with my friends.
First, jumping into photography, for me this is an art form and a skill I am developing—and is also a way to have social experiences. Following some "prom" formal photos last spring, my friends became aware of my skills; this is the first time I am developing my ability to photograph people—what I have been building for a while is nature photography—so, I had a blast taking pictures for our celebration of Halloween this year.
This is my friend Rai-Ching, she had an awesome costume and I enjoyed trying different focus techniques with her costume sword.
Sheba and Elise did an amazing job acting out various poses, with no prompting from me! This is one of their somewhat serious faces and some of my favorite photos are when they 'break character' and start laughing with big smiles.
My friend Hannah whose chin is being delicately supported by Sheba's crow costume nails.
I mentioned that I was able to go home for a weekend, which I have been enjoying every term (except for when I was abroad!). At home, I had some time to hang out with my family and see our dog, but part of why I also chose that particular weekend was to see one of my younger brother's football games and test out my photography skills since I have not done much with athletics. Part of this is that it is my brother's first time playing football, prior to this year he was a long-time soccer player. As you might be able to tell, my brother's jersey number is 5.
This is one of my favorite action shots, I particularly like the foliage colors, positioning, and lighting.
This photo stood out to me and my brother for how accurate it was at capturing his form, we both have a background in track and field so recognizing running form comes fairly easily to us.
I also had a blast capturing some of the team dynamics, whether it was strategizing in between plays, walking off, or stretching at pauses.
I was able to take some time to have a great visit at the Hood Museum of Art, which is right near my dorm on campus and a place I walk by regularly since one of the cafes is in the same building. Appreciating art is something I really enjoy and have done for many years, especially with my mom, so it was nice that we were able to find some time to do this since it has been a while!
This is a small part of a larger painting but I was captivated by the attention to details along with the lighting that created an awesome atmosphere that I do not often see in paintings.
I loved the color scheme along with the details here. When I create art one of my favorite techniques is zentangle, so details always draw me in.
I also took a somewhat spontaneous overnight trip with my friend Rai-Ching up to a cabin near the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge (part of the extensive Dartmouth Outing Club network). We had a night hike, cabin overnight, and took a nice morning hike after a light snow that night. I then got to show Rai-Ching the lodge and surrounding bunk houses since I remembered it from the end of my first-year trips.
This is us at the summit of one of the mountains adjacent to Moosilauke for our morning hike, notice the light snow on the ground which was surprising for October!
Rai-Ching is standing in front of the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. It is only a two story building but the upper floor has a really high ceiling—I love when natural wood is displayed in architecture so I love this place!
As a Digital Media Student Director for Dartmouth's First-Generation Office, it is my role on campus to amplify first-gen voices, foster community, and create meaningful connections through creative outreach.
This fall, Dartmouth provided me with incredible opportunities to get involved in politics. I registered as a New Hampshire voter, joined civic organizations, canvassed, and more! Read on to follow my journey leading up to Election Day!
