There are so many ways to explore your interests at Dartmouth and so many opportunities to have an impact on others. You have access to all of the College's inexhaustible resources, from Rembrandt prints in the Hood Museum of Art to an fMRI in Moore, home to Psychological & Brain Sciences. Because Dartmouth is tucked away in the small college town of Hanover along the Connecticut River, all these resources are here just for you.
The Dartmouth Experience
Coming to Dartmouth
Amma Serwaah-Panin ’10 has vivid memories of her first trip to Hanover, the start of her Dartmouth experience. “I took the bus from Boston and it kept going and going, and there were trees and mountains,” says Amma. “I thought, ‘Where am I going?’”
She soon made a home, and countless friends, at Dartmouth. She joined Students for Africa and Sigma Delta sorority. She served as an Undergraduate Advisor (UGA) and as treasurer of the Panhellenic Council.
Becoming Part of Dartmouth
“When I walk across campus my friends always joke, ‘Amma, you’re saying hello to so many people!’” she says. “But all of these experiences have helped me to form relationships with lots of different people on campus and to appreciate the diversity and richness of Dartmouth’s student body.”
An economics major modified with math and with a focus on international finance, Amma has especially enjoyed working on Tucker Foundation community service projects. She volunteered for Katrina Relief and the Alternative Spring Break service trip in Florida, working with a group of migrant workers employed by tomato and citrus farmers.
Passion and Practicality
“What drives a lot of what I do at Dartmouth, and in my life in general, is looking at the economic inequalities of the world,” says Amma. “My professors have said that economics is a study of the allocation of resources. And that’s a question I really want to explore. How does the world economy allocate resources so unevenly? This is something we all participate in daily. When I buy my coffee in Collis I do not want that to mean that someone is working for less than a dollar a day in Kenya.”
She examines how popular media sentiment affects how foreign direct investment flows to different countries in her senior thesis, advised by Professor of Mathematical and Social Sciences Joel Levine. “My hypothesis is that there’s under-investment in many foreign countries, especially African countries, because of how they are perceived."
Beyond Dartmouth
After graduation, Amma plans to study economics in graduate school and then to teach or work in the private sector in Africa. “I’ve really loved my time at Dartmouth,” she says. “I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve found, and the opportunities to explore social issues further and see how I can be most useful in addressing them. I definitely feel like I’m prepared to go out into the world and effect positive, meaningful change.”
By Bonnie Barber, from Dartmouth Life
