你好! Or Hi! My name is Taylor, and I'm a '27 from Beijing, China. I'm hoping to major in Mathematics and minor in Religion. Outside of the classroom, you can find me going on hikes with the Dartmouth Outing Club, drawing or crafting at the jewelry studio, or having fun, philosophical conversations with friends!
Coming to Dartmouth with a solid background in French (Delf B2), I find French 3 a perfect fit for me -- it helps me to consolidate a lot of key grammar and vocabs, and fun weekly cultural activities like coffee hours and french lunch table offers me chances to relax in busy times. While the class is very rigorous and requires a lot of hard work, my professor is so nice and makes the class very fun! I also look forward to going to Dartmouth's Toulouse LSA program after completion of this class!
This course explores how Buddhist concepts of embodiment affect daily life and society in Southeast Asian contexts, and how the intersection of religion, sexuality, and gender impact broader understandings of authority, wisdom, beauty, death, and loyalty. The class takes on many forms beyond mere lectures -- a visit to the Hood Museum of Art, mindfulness practices, and small Buddha-crafting projects. Our professor (the sweetest Prof. MK Long) also invites many of her colleagues at other institutes as guest lecturers to our class so that we can learn from real experts specializing in different countries in Southeast Asia. I have learned a lot from the class and decided to become a religion major after this course!
Having never enjoyed math classes before college, I'm surprised (again) by how I'm becoming a math major and falling in love with math here! My professor (Prof. Shu Longmei, who graduated from the best university in my hometown) is incredibly good at teaching the concepts -- not just explaining things clearly but also showing us the beauty and elegance of calculus. I really look forward to taking more math classes in the future!
SummerVietnam & Beijing, China
I first visited pagodas in Vietnam for a couple of weeks and had days of conversations with monastics! Then, I returned home to savor time spent with my family and old friends, focus on my mental and physical health, and study and work a bit.
This is a really fun and engaging class taught by an award-winning professor. The mini-ethnography assignments provide a lot of hands-on experience in conducting fieldwork, making the methods we study feel real and applicable. From participant observation to interviews and field note coding, this course offers an immersive introduction to ethnographic research on religion. Plus, the discussions on research ethics and methodology are both thought-provoking and relevant, making this an incredibly useful class for anyone interested in studying contemporary religious communities through direct engagement.
This class is incredibly interesting because it feels like traveling through time—from the philosophical foundations of Laozi and Zhuangzi to medieval Daoist traditions and contemporary practices in northern and southern China and Taiwan. Even as a Chinese student, I’m realizing how much there is to learn, not just about Daoism but also about the broader religious landscape and practices in China.
At Dartmouth, the quarter system typically means taking three courses per term. It's a rhythm most students settle into quickly—three classes, ten weeks, and a whirlwind of exams, projects, and papers. But this term, I decided to take four STEM courses, all directly tied to my majors in mathematics and Quantitative Social Science (QSS).
The lineup?
Math 20: Probability, where we're diving into the strange and beautiful logic of chance.
Math 23: Differential Equations, which has been a workout for both the brain and the pencil as we model everything from oscillations to population dynamics.
Math 30.04: Evolutionary Game Theory, perhaps the most conceptually stimulating of the four, where we examine how cooperation, strategy, and competition play out across time in surprisingly elegant mathematical terms.
QSS 17: Data Visualization, which has added a creative layer to the mix as I learn to present complex data in informative and storytelling ways.
Taking four STEM classes at once hasn't been easy. Between three problem sets a week and the occasional double-midterm day, I've definitely been spending more time in the library than usual. But despite the intensity, I've found myself really enjoying the process.
What's surprised me most is how the different subjects speak to one another in ways I didn't expect. A technique from game theory shows up in a differential equations model. Series become a common thread between probability and differential equations. Even the R code I've been using in my data visualization class has helped clarify ideas in probability. These small overlaps have made the learning feel more connected and meaningful.
More than anything, this term has reminded me how fulfilling learning can be when it's driven by curiosity. The pace is quick and the workload is full, but there's also something rewarding about leaning into the challenge. It's not about doing more for the sake of it—it's about finding joy in asking questions, following ideas, and seeing how far you can grow.
So yes, it's been one of my busier terms. But it's also been one of the most intellectually engaging, and that feels like a worthwhile trade.
Read about the Sophomore Summer Soiree and how I got to witness the beginning of something that hopefully grows into a long-standing Dartmouth tradition!
On the Beijing LSA+, we have real-world Chinese practice every Friday. Last week we went to two neighborhoods, Houhai and Shichahai, and wrote a photo log about our experience. Read along to see what immersive language learning here looks like!
With so many undergraduates hoping to participate in the exceptional atmosphere of the Tuck School of Business, Tuck created programs specifically designed for us. I was fortunate enough to take part in one of them: TuckLAB Entrepreneurship.
Here is my list of the restaurants in Hanover within walking distance of Dartmouth. Whether you're touring campus for the first time or are a Dartmouth student in need of a new place to eat, feel free to reference this list!
