Hi! I'm Reece, and I am '28 from Northern California! I hope to study Government, Policy, and Religion in college but come winter, I'll just be hoping to survive the snow. Outside of classes, I love to read, crochet, and journal, and can't wait to expand on my interests this year. I love the outdoors—but hate hiking—and I can't wait for my first spring on the Green! I hope my blog can help answer your ungoogleable questions, and please follow along for chaos that is bound to ensue!
As a student interested in both government and religion, I was thrilled to take this course in the fall—concurrent with the presidential election. The Professor, Randall Balmer, was a really engaging speaker and a leading expert in the field—he even authored two of the course books! We spent our class time discussing many historical and modern elections and discussed in depth the religious influences on the various figures. Overall, this class was really interesting and a great introduction to the religion major!
I took this class with Professor Devin Singh, and it really solidified my interest in studying Religion at Dartmouth. We began the course by outlining the various emergence theories of money, and spent a significant amount of time debunking the most popular: commodity theory (i.e., that money emerged to help people trade). We examined historical evidence, discussed relevant texts, and were able to build our own theories about the history of money. The second half of class focused on the religious connotations of wealth. Overall, this course challenged me in a positive way and highlighted the importance of studying religion in contemporary society.
I wanted to try something new this term, so I took my first pure STEM course at Dartmouth—a mini departure from what I have done in the past. At first, I was apprehensive as Computer Science 1 is a larger class held in a big lecture hall, but my fears were quickly squashed. Throughout the term, I felt so much support from my peers, all the TAs, and even the professor himself. Professor Campbell was an engaging lecturer who kept classes interesting, always telling little anecdotes about his life and his journey to CS, all while adding a few dad jokes here and there. He held weekly office hours, concept chats, and coffee hours with students, so there were plenty of opportunities to get to know him on a personal level. Although I am not a STEM or CS major, and will probably not take another CS class at Dartmouth, I really enjoyed this course! It taught me the foundations of computer science, pushed me as a student, and made me realize how important it is to try new things!
I love Dartmouth in the fall. Honestly, I love every season that Dartmouth has to offer, but there is something unique about a New Hampshire autumn. Coming from California, I never really understood the hype around this time of year: the weather was kind of dull, the air was really dry, and then suddenly it was winter. But here in New Hampshire, fall feels special. From the changing colors of the trees to the sunny days on the green to afternoons spent by the river while the water is still warm, Dartmouth in the fall is absolutely unmatched.
One of my favorite activities, now that it's my second fall and I've become more settled into a routine in Hanover, is to explore new neighboring towns. Last weekend, my friends and I drove to Plainfield, New Hampshire, just twenty minutes south, to go Apple Picking at Riverview Farms, and I want to take you along for the ride.
In my opinion, Riverview Farms is a staple for the Dartmouth community. The Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) hosts numerous trips to the farm in the fall, and many other social clubs also take trips there to view the trees and produce. It's also located right next to McNamara Dairy, which sells the best chocolate milk I've ever had—it is also the dairy farm that provides milk to Dartmouth, so I can get my chocolate milk fix any time of the year. I visited McNamara last year with the DOC and had a blast trying different kinds of food and wandering to check out all the animals.
The Cows at McNamara
A bright orange old tractor is in the middle of the frame with hay and orange pumpkins all around. Behind the tractors is a field of corn. A girl in a white top sits on the tractor.
Although it lacks the animal attraction of McNamara, Riverview Farm is still a must-visit place for all Dartmouth students. With over 2,000 apple trees, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, a corn maze, flower fields, and various berry bushes, you could spend hours at Riverview just wandering with friends.
The Flower Garden
Freshly Picked Blueberries
The Pre-Picked Pumpkin Patch
After a long, glorious morning in Plainfield, all of us then drove back to campus to enjoy our spoils. We picked too many apples and too few blueberries, but we took just the right number of pictures as a group! I loved my weekend in Plainfield and can't wait to check out a new neighboring town sometime soon!
Senior Fall brings an eventful and diverse courseload, taking up almost all of my time! Find out what I am involved with this term and the incredible variety of classes that Dartmouth has to offer!
Now that I'm a sophomore, I find myself in the possession of an extraordinary amount of 'Dartmouth lingo.' This is your formal invitation to get the inside scoop!
Now that I'm officially halfway through my Dartmouth career, I'm acutely aware of how fast time seems to fly. It seems like years ago that I first experienced Fallapalooza, a free concert for Dartmouth students hosted by Programming Board.
