Welcome Home!

 Posted by Vanessa Trinh at 5:08 pm  No Responses »
Dec 062012
 

This post goes out to all the Dartmouth students that are now home for the holidays with this year’s new Academic Calendar extending from Thanksgiving to New Years as well as to the brand new ’17s that are, as of today, part of our Dartmouth family! Congratulations! I am excited to meet the DC- area ’17s at the Dartmouth Club of DC Holiday Party coming up next week.

As I finish up my time at home in DC this fall quarter, I have realized how crazy fast the time has gone by. After having this “real life” job, I am ready to go back and enjoy my time as a student for a little while longer. Although I have learned so much more in these past ten weeks than I could have imagined I would, I also miss my friends, my sorority and my classes that didn’t start until ten and were only a few steps outside my door. Get ready ’17s, for a fantastic college experience, whether you are in Hanover or taking off-terms in cities all over the world, take advantage of all of it! We’re all waiting to see what you’ll do.

Also, say ‘Hi!’ on campus!

 

 Tagged with: , , ,

Junior Fall

 Posted by KBradshaw at 3:05 am  No Responses »
Oct 072012
 
Autumn at Mink Brook

Changing colors signal the end of summer and the start of fall term chaos.

Compared to the summer term, when many of my extracurricular commitments were dormant for the quarter, there’s a frantic energy that arrives with the new faces and exhausting enthusiasm of the freshman class and the crispening air of autumn breezes. Gone are the days of Sophomore Summer when I could walk through the Collis dining hall and order my post-run smoothie without having to wait in line. However, the constant buzz of energized students really does help me stay motivated. Right now, I’m thrilled about all of the extracurriculars I’m involved in. Even though there’s a secret part of me that senses I might be overcommitted, I’m still enthralled with my commitments in a type of pre-midterms honeymoon phase. Currently, my extracurriculars include:

1)   working as a UGA. This is essentially an RA position, but Dartmouthspeak insists on its own vernacular, and so I am an Undergradudate Advisor instead. I am partly responsible for the well-being of 35 upperclass residents living in Andres, which is part of the East Wheelock housing cluster. My favorite part is organizing events for my residents—yesterday we had a movie night and tomorrow we’ll be going for a short hike.

2)   Students Fighting Hunger. During the summer term I was the organization chair, but luckily I have 3 other co-chairs this term. This organization plans and cooks a community dinner for low-income individuals every Friday evening. My favorite part is when we get to sit down to eat with our regular attendees and chat. It’s a great way to get out of the “Dartmouth bubble” and get to know local residents.

3)   Multi-Faith Council. This group meets once every week (over a free dinner) to discuss a different topic related to faith and spirituality. Some of my most meaningful discussions at Dartmouth have taken place here, listening to my Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Atheist friends, among others, talk about their faith journeys and perspectives.

4)   DCGHSE (Dartmouth Coalition for Global Health and Social Equity). This group meets once per week to discuss current issues relating to global health. Every week there is a different student presentation on a project or experience on a health-related issue and a subsequent discussion. I’ve learned tons regarding issues of sustainable development, HIV/AIDS, microlending, technology and medicine, and healthcare in general. I love that the group is super interdisciplinary—it’s not all pre-meds, by any means.

5)   Project Preservation. This was initially a short-term venture in which I attended weekly training sessions to prepare for a trip to Poland to restore a Jewish cemetery that had been abandoned during the Holocaust. After having an incredible experience there, I am now doing research on the town that we visited, Korczyna, and am trying to piece together a better understanding of the Jewish community in the town preceding the events of the Holocaust.

6)  Fostering Hope. This is a new organization that my friend Alice and I are in the process of organizing, in which we plan to work with local foster youth and spread awareness regarding at-risk youth including orphans and vulnerable children both domestically and abroad.

7) LDSSA (Latter-Day Saint Student Association). As a member of my church community, I’m involved in the social organization of my LDS church group. We meet together for church, Institute—an academic bible study program, and once a week for what we call Family Home Evening—mostly an excuse to hang out and chill for a bit. We also have an intramural soccer team this term—yes, we’re the Stormin’ Mormons. And yes, we got slaughtered by the Matholes. No shame. Well, maybe a little….

8)   I also babysit once per week for a parent support group at DHMC (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center), which is fantastic because I get to escape the library by watching Disney movies and entertaining kids with finger puppets and crayons. :)

So after reading through all of this, I realized this kind of sounds like a resume, which was not my intention AT ALL. While you should realize that there will be plenty of Dartmouth kids who will tell you that LinkedIn is the new Facebook, that’s not really my style. The point I’m trying to make is that there are sooo many incredible opportunities to engage with topics and questions you’re interested in outside class—and even though this sounds cliché, I’m confident that if you open yourself up to the incredible opportunities waiting all around you, you’ll learn more at Dartmouth than you ever imagined, both inside and outside the classroom.

More blog entries to come! I promise!

 

 

Halfway There!?

 Posted by Vanessa Trinh at 11:08 am  No Responses »
Jul 062012
 

At the Ledyard Canoe Club on the Connecticut River. Photo courtesy the Dartmouth Flickr Photostream.

Greetings from Hanover! It came as a huge wake up call the other week when our entire class got a blitz from Dean Charlotte Johnson with the words,  “Lodged halfway through your time at Dartmouth, this term provides a perfect occasion to reflect on where you have been, who you are now and where you are going.” WHAT?

I received it on my phone as I was casually lounging on the river docks and it was a very sobering message opposite to the sunshine and laughter around me. It still hasn’t really hit me that I’m in my sophomore summer, the term we’ve been waiting for since before we even came to campus. Every upperclassman had always said it was their favorite term at Dartmouth and I, along with every other ’14 have very high hopes.

It’s a very different atmosphere on campus, with only sophomores and so many people living in their Greek houses and having enough free time to stop and hear the guitar on Collis porch on a cool summer evening without rushing off to a meeting, or the library. Of course, I’m still taking two major classes and doing research at the Tuck School, so I wouldn’t say I’m carefree. However, there is a sense of calm around the campus as not only the students are relaxing a little more, so are the professors. I’m hoping to make the most of this summer before I head home to DC for an internship at the State Department. I’m looking forward to so much this term, from the Farmer’s Market, to BBQ’s outside my sorority to overnight cabin trips or runs around Occom Pond. Meanwhile, I already know the best part of this summer will be the many past and future friends that are finally back on campus!

 Tagged with: , ,

The Path of Least Cold

 Posted by Ajay Kannan at 10:45 am  No Responses »
Jan 042012
 

My sidekicks during the winter months.

Classes start really late for me today, so I thought I would load a quick post. I’m a little anxious to get back into the swing of classwork, especially since I’m taking harder courses this term. I’m very satisfied with my schedule because my classes are fairly small and there will be a lot of participation involved. However, the most pressing item on my mental agenda for today is plotting my “path of least cold”.

When my friends left for classes this morning, they stepped outside into 1 degree (F) weather. It’s supposed to reach a high of 15 degrees today. Needless to say, I’m plotting my activities for the day to minimize time outside. It’s really a pity that the 40 degree weather that Hanover had a couple days ago disappeared the moment everyone came back to campus. Anyways, I suppose I should be readying myself for class instead of sitting on my bed being wistful.

The nice thing is that, as I sit on my bed typing this post and planning out my day, I’m enjoying some balmy conditions inside. The dorms are kept toasty – warm enough that I sometimes wear shorts and sandals inside.  Most of the time, I feel like it’s spring. Essentially, I’m only preparing to face the cold for a combined 20 minutes of walking over the course of the entire day.

But, back to my checklist: Hat – check. Gloves – check. Huge jacket – check. Wool socks – check. And I’ve never worn a scarf before, but I assure you, I will be wearing one today. It’s kind of exciting to break out all my heavy winter gear. I’m off now, with plan formulated in my head.

Happy New Year everyone!  This year is definitely starting differently for me, and I hope it will be a great one for the both of us.

 Tagged with: ,

Thanksgiving – Take One

 Posted by Stephanie Abbott-Grobicki at 12:17 pm  No Responses »
Dec 022011
 

Being an international student, I wasn’t able to go home for Thanksgiving. Spending 20+hours in a plane and at airports, with 6 hours jetlag each way, for only a five day break is a little excessive for a holiday that my family doesn’t even celebrate. This term I have been lucky enough to make some great friends on my freshman floor. When you are all up at 2 am frantically trying to finish a paper for some class or another, there is some serious bonding! One of my friends on my floor is actually from Hanover and her family invited me to spend Thanksgiving break in their home.

My last two years of high school were spent at a boarding school which was an amazing experience but certainly made me appreciate time spent in a real home – away from the dorms. After 9 weeks of classes, it was so nice to be in a bedroom with a proper bathroom and a house just to relax in. Being about a mile from campus, it was so easy to get to Baker (the library) to get any books I needed for my work but it also meant that I was off campus for a while – without having to go very far. Dartmouth is fantastic but it is a very intense experience and it’s good to remember that breaks every now and then to rejuvenate are necessary. This one definitely renewed my energy! Thanksgiving was amazing (SUCH GOOD FOOD) and we went on one or two fabulous adventures (involving black Friday shopping, building a snowturkey and baking lots and lots of pie!).

Next year, the calendar is changing so Thanksgiving is actually at that beginning of the winter break, but I think I will definitely stick around for another Thanksgiving holiday before heading off home for Christmas!

 Tagged with: , ,

On the Road

 Posted by Sasha Dudding at 1:31 am  No Responses »
Nov 202011
 

This week, many of us will be going home for the first time since getting to Dartmouth. Though I thought my first weeks at college would go by slowly, it seems the time here has flown by. It seems like yesterday I was driving up to Hanover from my house in New York City. My mother was driving, which is something she doesn’t normally do, so we made sure to prepare ourselves for the big day. We strategized about how to pack up the car (a careful division between trunk and backseat), the best route to take (partially ignoring our GPS, which I swear sounded increasingly frustrated every time it recalculated our route), and even our road food. Everything went smoothly on the morning of the drive. As the cityscape turned into rolling mountains, I began to feel my ride to orientation was a good old-fashioned road trip. Then, five short hours after we started, we reached our destination: Dartmouth. It will be, and already has been, the source of countless new adventures for me, but on that afternoon, my very first college adventure came to a close.

The group after a long day of hiking Mt. Washington this October. I'm on the far right.

Since then, I have gotten to go to a few places outside of Dartmouth. My first excursion was hardly the most adventurous, but my two roommates and I went to the nearby Wal-Mart over orientation for room supplies. In October, I spent a Saturday hiking Mt. Washington with the DOC. They offer day trips like this every week, and I’m glad I got to go on one. It was amazing to be able to go out into nature in between weeks of classes, and it was definitely something new for me as a city girl. I recently got to see Simon Pearce as well, a beautiful local restaurant and glass blowing workshop in Quechee, VT that just reopened for business after being flooded during Hurricane Irene. This week, I’ll take my next trip. I’ll sit on a bus headed towards home and watch the mountains turn back into buildings. I look forward to going back for a bit, but I’ve also gotten to go some pretty great places since I’ve left.

 Tagged with: , , ,

Velvet Rocks

 Posted by Anuraag Girdhar at 2:21 pm  No Responses »
Nov 092011
 

Upon talking to some really crunchy Dartmouth ‘11’s back for Homecoming Weekend, I realized with incredulity that I had not yet hiked any stretch of the Appalachian Trail. I was really into that kind of thing at home, where I didn’t even have access to pristine, untouched nature. So I made a spontaneous decision. Instead of going out that night, I grabbed a friend, and we went on an evening hike to Velvet Rocks, an area landmark, and allegedly only a few minutes from campus. We took a left from a sketchy looking gas station, and turned onto one of the most beautiful trails I’ve hiked on. Every few minutes, we’d come upon a series of natural stone steps that connected us with another portion of the trail. Nonetheless, within ten minutes, we managed to lose our path, and we had to hike straight through the underbrush for a half an hour before we could find the trail again. If you know anything about group dynamics, you’ll realize the position we were in was dangerous, because each of us alone in that situation would have been terrified, but we both assumed the other knew what was going on. Continue reading »

 Tagged with: , ,

Welcome Home!

 Posted by Stephanie Abbott-Grobicki at 10:24 pm  No Responses »
Oct 292011
 

Trips is definitely one of the best experiences at Dartmouth. It’s very bizarre to be told as soon as you arrive that you are setting off on the “best five days of your life”. I’d just left home, was jet-lagged and thinking “what kind of crazy school have I gotten myself into?”

Setting off for four days on a canoe, in the rain is not everyone’s idea of fun. But I returned with some amazing friends and a feeling of belonging that I don’t think you will get so soon at any other college.

The first day canoeing is what could be called ‘a bonding experience’. It rained solidly for about 20 or so hours. We canoed through the rain, slept under tarps and woke up with puddles at the bottom of our sleeping bags but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. That evening I huddled together with 11 other complete strangers, playing mafia and quickly realised that they weren’t strangers anymore. Inside jokes, ridiculous games, sharing embarrassing facts and listening to jokes that simple shouldn’t be told (because they were simply that bad!) are just a few of the memories that made that evening.

“WELCOME HOME” is how everyone on trips will greet you. Dartmouth becomes so important to you in five days, it’s difficult to see how you lived without it. I arrived back on campus looking awful, smelling bad and with the biggest smile on my face and 11 people I already knew. It’s terrifying going to a new place and scrambling to make new friends. Trips did that for me and, in the best way, welcomed me home.

 Tagged with: , , , ,

Regaining the Awe

 Posted by Adria Brown at 6:20 pm  1 Response »
Oct 062011
 

Last year, I visited Dartmouth through a prospective Native American student program. The Green, the lights on Dartmouth Hall and the picturesque library enchanted me. I asked myself the question “How could I ever be adequate enough to be in the presence of such a beautiful campus?”

And, this year I jumped off the bus from the Lodj, and began my journey into this exquisite campus. After the flurry of orientation activities and the increasing pressure to explore the multitude of clubs on campus, it’s been easy for me to look down while I rush to my Anthropology class. It’s been simple to ignore our gorgeous foliage when it seems to drop ten degrees every day. But, as I hosted prospies (prospective students) from the same program I attended last year, I learned how to look up again.

The prospies exclaimed their surprise at the architecture and the sheer greenness of the campus. Does Dartmouth lose its beauty with time? Does it relinquish its charm to only prospective students? It still remains enchanting, but is often forgotten by many of us as we rush to class in the pouring rain. It seems to slip our minds when frustrations arise, or when we write a last minute paper. And, of course, the first few weeks of college contain highs and lows: points where you feel surrounded with excitement and points where you seem completely alone. And to say that one’s college homesickness will be cured with one look at your surroundings is naive, but Dartmouth still can woo one with its mixture of extremely inspiring people and gorgeous nature.

So as I return from the library late at night, maybe for once I will look up at the stars instead of the ground, and remind myself of the first moment I saw Dartmouth and how I consider this my new home.

 Tagged with: , ,

The Magical Feeling

 Posted by Faizan Kanji at 4:21 pm  No Responses »
Oct 062011
 

It has been about a month since I first landed on the Green, and about two weeks since classes have started (which is a significant amount since we have 10 week academic terms). It’s been both stressful and exciting at times. I have my first midterm coming up next week, I am researching questions for my first proper academic paper, I have been to my first two football games (yes, my life’s first two!), I’ve had my homesick moments, I’ve had a wii party with friends, I’ve made spontaneous decisions of visiting West Lebanon in the middle of the week with some friends, I’ve worked my first shift at Courtyard Café located at the Hop (Hopkins Centre for the Arts), I’ve joined the tennis PE course and the Cricket Club (Yes Dartmouth has a Cricket Club! Dartmouth has something for everybody), I’ve played poker at 2 in the night with my floor, and I have done tons of other stuff during this month. There have been mostly highs and some lows. However, there is one thing that I’ve experienced every single day I’ve been at Dartmouth.

This common experience that I have every single day is simply a feeling that stays with me. It is one of the most positive feelings I have ever experienced. It includes pride and happiness. When I think about my day, I’m filled with a sense of achievement. At Dartmouth, every single day we achieve something academically, morally, physically and intellectually. Whether it’s in a class through the teacher’s lecture, or at your friend’s dorm through helping them with a math problem, Dartmouth is filled with all kinds of learning experiences. Going through such experiences makes you feel proud of yourself at the end of the day, since you know that you’ve grown and developed since you woke up that morning.

The feeling also includes inspiration. At Dartmouth you are inspired to seek new areas, to take up new challenges, to think outside the box, to believe in yourself and your peers. A few weeks ago while talking to an upperclassman one of my friends spontaneously decided to go on a canoe trip. The flow of water was intense and she had never canoed in such conditions before. She took up the challenge and she came to me that night telling me that it was one of the best experiences she has ever had! You find several such opportunities at Dartmouth, and soon you are inspired to take them.

You also feel part of the community. At Dartmouth, students are very welcoming. The friends I have made over the past month are amazing. Despite coming from a different country and culture, I have never felt left out at Dartmouth. We find a sense of unity with everyone at Dartmouth and it certainly becomes our home.

I may still be a new freshman at Dartmouth (I haven’t even ran across the fire at homecoming yet) but I have loved every moment I’ve spent here. The magical feeling that Dartmouth has given me is priceless, and this feeling grows each and every day.

 

Cheers!

 Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,
© 2013 Dartmouth Direct Acceptable Use Policy