Nick Pavlis '15
Home Town: Fairfield, Conn.Major: Environmental science
Why and how did you choose your major?
NP: I took a gap year before I came here and did a lot of backpacking, which cultivated my interest in the environment. I also applied to the Big Green Bus, which I was fortunate enough to get onto. Weekly meetings started in October, and that was really a formative experience that made me realize I wanted to study environmental science.
What have you done for off-terms and study abroad?
NP: I took off last winter and interned at the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York City. For the first time in my life, I was doing a job I might want to pursue down the line. I did research on fracking and protecting communities' sovereign rights against companies that come in and frack. The group there was mostly environmental lawyers looking at the actual stats, not ideologically shifted to the left like some people might think for an environmental group.
Are you traveling at all next year?
NP: I'm going on the environmental science goreign study program to South Africa in the fall. The program has 16 students and we'll also travel to Namibia and Lesotho. It's such a great setup, being taught environmental science by South African teachers, going to Africa for the first time in my life, the list goes on.
What are you involved in on campus?
NP: The bus was a huge part of my freshman year we traveled around the country to different communities and focused on service projects where we could also talk about environmental topics. Freshman spring I applied to the Outdoor Leadership Experience, where you do outdoor activities with middle school students. I'm going to start working at RWIT, a tutoring program that helps students write essays, this coming year. This summer, I've also been a Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth mentor and vice president of Bones Gate fraternity. I'm also involved in the interfraternity network on sexual assault. The goal is to raise the awareness of the brothers of fraternities about sexual assault, what signs to look for and how to prevent it.
Any advice for incoming freshmen?
NP: Don't be shy. Try different things at Dartmouth, get a taste for different people. It can be hard by the time you're a junior because you're already committed to so many organizations, but when you're a freshman, you have a blank slate. Don't commit to one thing until you're ready. And it's such a clich, but find the right balance between academics and socially engaging with other people and communities.
Mary Peng '15
Home Town: Changsha, China Major: EconomicsMinor: French
What have you done for off-terms and study abroad?
The summer between freshman and sophomore years, I was a First-Year Fellow and spent the summer in Washington, D.C. I worked at the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog organization that promotes government transparency. I researched regulations about financial reform and spent a lot of time learning about the Dodd-Frank Act. This spring I also traveled to Paris for the French FSP, which was really remarkable.
Are you traveling at all next year?
I'm also on an off-term this summer, working in Hanover for the Paganucci Fellows program at The Tuck School of Business. It combines social entrepreneurship and consulting and is very team-based and focuses on international development, which I'm really passionate about. We're working with a startup founded by two Dartmouth alumni about experimental ways to finance development projects, focusing on Colombia. In the fall I'm also going to Oxford for the economics and government transfer term there.
**What are you invovled in on campus?*
I'm involved with Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering and right now I'm working with the impact analysis team to analyze the club's impact on local communities. I also co-founded the Dandelion Project, which works with a school for migrant workers in rural Beijing. We're trying to set up an e-learning program for the school right now to teach English to students and teachers at the school. I also play the flute in the chamber music program, do research for economics professor Eric Edmonds and tutor students in economics.
Any advice for incoming freshmen?
You don't need to be worried about the Greek system, especially if you're not into partying or drinking. It's definitely possible to find people you really enjoy hanging out with without being a part of the system. I have never been really involved in the Greek system, and I also have a lot of friends that really enjoy being in their houses, but there isn't one Dartmouth experience. I think it also helps to have a positive attitude. Some people complain that at Dartmouth, we're in the middle of nowhere, but there are so many resources here.
Brett Teplitz '15
Home Town: Long Island, N.Y.Major: BiologyMinor: Anthropology
Why and how did you choose your major?
I came into college knowing I wanted to be a doctor. On the pre-med track you can major in pretty much anything, but I'm still most interested in biology. Anthropology is not something that I had thought about before at all. I didn't know how it would apply to what I'm interested in, but after taking Biology 11, which is about population genetics and evolution, it sort of led me toward biological anthropology. I took the introductory anthropology class with professor John Watanabe and really liked the change of pace and creative thinking aspects of the course.
What have you done for off-terms and study abroad?
I haven't been off or studied abroad yet, which is just the way it worked out with Ski Patrol. I have to be here in the winter, which is when biology and anthropology run their study abroad programs, but I'm hoping to go abroad next summer and maybe do a Tuck fellowship or something like that.
What are you involved in on campus?
Skiing is something that I loved before I came here, and so being on Ski Patrol is great. I get the opportunity to ski twice a week for trips and to practice saving lives. In a similar vein, I work with Dartmouth Emergency Medical Services. My freshman spring I performed at the Dimensions show, which is totally different from anything I've done before. I can't sing, I can't dance, but that show is what drew me to Dartmouth, so I wanted to have a chance to give back and do that. I also do immunology research at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, am rush chair for Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity, and became involved in the DREAM mentorship program this summer.
What are you most looking forward to in your next two years at Dartmouth?
I'm looking forward to becoming more of a leader in my organizations. I've also knocked off a lot of my pre-med requirements pretty early, so I'm hoping to have more free time to do spontaneous things going forward. Especially once the MCAT is out of the way, I'm hoping to spend more time outside, enjoying the weather, that kind of thing.
Any advice for incoming freshmen?
Make time for experiences outside the classroom. When you have time to do your work, get it done because there's so much going on with events and clubs that you'll want to be a part of. The people I've gotten the closest to here are the ones who I've met at the organizations that I am involved in. If I hadn't joined, I would have missed out on those connections.
Felicia Wilkins '15
Home Town: Atlanta, Ga. Major: Music modified with theater Minor: Chinese and biology
Why and how did you choose your major?
I'm pre-med, and freshman year I thought I would double major in biology and Chinese, but now it's music. I'd done a lot of music in high school and thought about going to a conservatory, but when I came here, I figured I didn't have time to do all of that. But then I was in "Hairspray" my freshman winter, which I really loved, and got talked into taking more music and theater classes by upperclassmen in the show. I ended up taking so many, I figured I might as well just major in it. I'm still pre-med, but I'm kind of working backwards. I'll be done with my music major this fall and then I'll finish the rest of the pre-med requirements after that.
What have you done for off-terms and study abroad?
The summer after freshman year I went on the FSP to China. That was pretty much the reason I became a minor in the first place. I knew some Mandarin before I came here, took a couple classes before the FSP, and then after the trip was basically done with the minor. Sophomore winter I went home to Georgia and shadowed a doctor doing emergency medicine, and last spring break I shadowed a pediatrician and surgeon in Liberia.
What are you involved in on campus?
I'm in an all-female a cappella group, the Decibelles, and the Glee club. I'm involved in DREAM, a mentoring program where I hang out with underprivileged children some afternoons during the week. I'm also a member of Dartmouth Emergency Medical Services, which is lots of fun. I'm also in a sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and I've met a lot of great people through that. I was involved in the Dimensions show my freshman year and helped to coach this year's students, and I am involved in the Christian Union, a student organization for Christian students at Dartmouth.
What have been some of your best memories at Dartmouth so far?
Big weekends, of course, which are meant to be memorable. But I think I'd also have to say my freshman floor in general, which has stayed really, really close. That's been fun, to see everybody grow. We haven't always liked each other, and there have been some periods of Cold War fights, but it's so great to meet up for family dinner and catch up, see what everyone is up to.
What are you most looking forward to in your next two years at Dartmouth?
It's kind of sad to start thinking ahead, but I'm excited to see where everyone will go. Junior year is going to be kind of scattered because a lot of my friends are going abroad in the fall and are off in the winter, but it will be good too, to force me to meet new people. I'm also looking forward to being more of an adult at Dartmouth, maybe being a mentor to younger students.
