Hi, and welcome to my corner of the woods! I'm Lauren, a '27 from Munger, Michigan. My favorite places on campus include Sanborn (for writing), the river (for paddling), and the Green (for everything else). I'm excited to share a bit about my favorite place with all of you!
I took this class as part of Dartmouth's first year writing requirement. We read a pro cyclist's life narrative, discussed research papers on controversial topics in sports, and wrote our own papers on a contentious sports technology of our choice. I really enjoyed this course's emphasis on discussion, and the small class size!
This was my first class in the classics department, which was super exciting as a classical studies major! We learned about the ancient Olympics and the connections between athletics and other aspects of ancient Greek society. I loved the final project in this class, which involved creating an argument about how the ancient pentathlon was scored!
To conclude my language requirement, I took Latin 3! This class was super exciting because we began to read ancient texts and poetry. We also took a class trip to the Rauner Special Collections library so we could physically handle and read some manuscripts. And as an added bonus, Latin counts as a prerequisite for my classical studies major!
As a part of my language study abroad in Italy, I also took a class on Italian history and culture! We went on field trips to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, participated in walking tours of Rome, and watched a lot of great cinema in this class! I loved it so much that I decided to minor in Italian.
This class, in addition to being a pre-requisite for my major, was super interesting! I loved learning about archaeology through hands-on projects and lectures that felt like TED Talks.
My favorite course on my Italian LSA+ in Rome is focused on Italian literature, which we are studying in a reverse-chronological order! It has been incredibly fun to see different topics and styles evolve over time and to learn from the works of the best writers.
I’m absolutely loving this hands-on introduction to paleography, and the fact that my class meets at Rauner every day! I can’t wait to hear from our guest lecturers, too, and I’ll be sure to share those experiences on the blog. All in all, Latin 10 was a great way to get back into the language after a term away in Rome.
I still remember—and I don't think I'll ever forget—the first time I visited campus. After a twelve-hour drive that took my family through Michigan, Ontario, upstate New York, and finally into the Upper Valley, my first view of Dartmouth was driving up the hill and along the southern side of the Green down Wheelock Street as the sun began to set. Not a bad first impression!
Although I had applied and been accepted Early Decision, I still had my doubts about Dartmouth. As I've explained previously on my blog, I'm from a small town in Michigan (and town is a…generous term). Moving to a college town in New England, although an exciting opportunity, also made me incredibly nervous. Would I fit in? Would it be overwhelming? Would I find anyone who knew how to play euchre? (Spoiler: Yes, but I often have to remind them of the rules.)
For better or worse, I didn't really have a reference point. My town has zero stoplights, a few local businesses, and an abundance of farmland. (To be fair, Hanover only has a couple stoplights, so it still kind of felt like a big city). Almost everyone I went to high school with stayed in-state for college, and I often wondered if I was making the right decision. Dartmouth wasn't only far from home; it felt like another planet.
I'm from a rural area, but the beautiful nature at Dartmouth is still something that shocks me.
But when I first stepped out of the car, I felt something unexpected—comfort, familiarity, a sense of place. The Upper Valley is different from home, but they share a lot of similarities. It has quiet roads, small businesses, and an appreciation for nature. It's a place where I can see the stars at night and buy fresh produce at the farmer's market.
That first visit (during Dimensions), I wandered around the campus in awe. The students were smiling and waving at each other from across the Green, my Dimensions host was bursting with excitement as she showed me around, and the classes I got to visit were full of engaged students. I may have stumbled into it, but I had made the right decision.
Since that first visit, Dartmouth has continued to amaze me nearly every day. I've been introduced to new ideas, new cultures, new opportunities, and new snowball fight techniques. I've grown academically, but I also think that I'm continuing to grow as a person at Dartmouth.
I could talk about Dartmouth all day, and that's because it's the kind of place where a girl from Munger can feel just as home as her friends from New York City and Dhaka. Because it's a place that both challenges and comforts. And because, despite my initial nerves, it's a place that now feels like home.
In my freshman year, I wrote a blog revisiting my decision of attending Dartmouth College. Now that more than a year has passed, I would love to revisit my decision again, with a more realistic lens.
