Hi, and welcome to my corner of the woods! I'm Lauren, a '27 from Munger, Michigan. I'm excited to be back to taking classes after two "off terms" in a row! Outside of academics, I'm involved in Ledyard Canoe Club, the Dartmouth Organization of Rural Students, and Dartmouth Sports Analytics Club. I'm excited to share stories from 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 signed up for this Latin class after the FDOC (first day of class), and I'm so glad I added it to my sophomore summer schedule! Our class is combined with GRK 30.08 History and Structure of the Greek Language, and it has been incredibly interesting to compare the ancient languages and learn a bit of Greek.
FallIvrea, Italy
This term, I'm interning with the Olivetti Leadership Institute in Ivrea, a small town in northern Italy.
WinterHanover, NH
For my second off-term, I'm back on campus! I'm keeping myself busy by working, spending time with friends, and working on my to-be-read list.
I signed up for this course to complete my final distributive requirement for graduation, and it has turned out to be one of my most rewarding classes! It’s been fascinating to explore a region of the world I hadn’t formally studied before. As a bonus, the lectures are incredibly engaging and I always leave class feeling like my perspective has been broadened.
I have loved my Dartmouth dorms, and I love being a member ofWest House. I spent my first year in the "River" cluster, living on the fourth floor of French (here's a great post by fellow blogger Eloise about the building!) before moving to McLane for sophomore fallandspring. During my interim job, I lived back in the "River" in Judge. But when it came time to figure out where I'd be living for the summer, I wanted to try something different.
Here's a peek at Judge Hall, where I lived during the interim period!
I talked to some of my friends, and we decided to start looking for an apartment or house to rent together for the term. After many hours of searching online, we found a great house located just a few minutes from the Green and went to tour it a few days later. We loved it and decided we wanted to live there!
The next hurdle was finding enough people to fill the house. It's a big place: 5 or 6 bedrooms, depending on how you set up the furniture. Many of my friends had already signed up to live in their Greek houses for the summer, and others didn't want to give up the convenience of air conditioning and elevators or the proximity to classes and on-campus dining services that come with living in a dorm.
I miss the porch at Fahey-McLane, which was a great homework spot!
Eventually, we managed to assemble a group and signed our sublease agreement. I'll be living with 4 other people, and we're all excited to be able to cook, sit outside on the patio, and spend more time together over the summer. I'm looking forward to house dinners, movie nights, and lots of evenings spent around our fire pit.
Speaking of cooking, I think that's one of my favorite things about living in a house. Yes, the dorms have kitchens, but it's difficult to justify making many meals for myself when I have an on-campus meal plan.Now, I'm on the"40-block,"which means that I have fewer swipes—and more opportunities to make myself dinner! My house has a big kitchen, which is constantly whirring with activity and noise.
In terms of logistics, I've found that living off-campus comes out to around the same cost as living in a dorm—but everyone's financial situation is different. I'd recommendreaching out to Financial Aid to discuss how they can support you if you're thinking about moving off-campus.
Another thing I love about the house is my bedroom. It has its own bathroom and comes with a double bed, which are both slight upgrades from dorm living. I even have a bit of sitting space and a couch, which has been great when friends come over to visit or my roommates want to sit and hang out. At first, I wasn't going to decorate the room much—after all, I'll only be living there for 10 weeks. But little by little, things have started accumulating on my walls and windowsills.
My room this term :)
I don't want to be cheesy, but I think we're starting to make our summer house a real home.
In this blog, I share how joining Ujima, Dartmouth's oldest hip hop dance team, became not just a creative outlet but a family built on collective work, responsibility, and love.
To the Class of 2030: Congratulations! For those of you who are still making a decision, this blog is intended to give you some tips from my own experience of being in your fortunate (but difficult) position.
Dartmouth offers three student workshops at The Hopkins Center: ceramics, jewelry, and woodwork! Join me on my journey as I explore the non-credit-based arts at Dartmouth and make some interesting handmade objects along the way! Up first, CERAMICS!
Staying connected to significant people in my life is very important to my emotional well being at Dartmouth. Here are some ways I stay social around Hanover and a little bit away in Boston!
This winter, I'm studying abroad in Toulouse, immersing myself in French language, literature, art, and culture through place-based classes, city explorations, and firsthand experiences across southern France.
