I've had three experiences in this past year which have put me into contact with graduate students at Dartmouth, and they reaffirmed my belief that undergraduates could benefit from interacting more with this population. Although freshmen or sophomores can certainly gain from interactions with upperclassman friends, much more significant learning can take place through contact with graduate students.
Undergraduates' apparent lack of interest in engaging with the graduate population is unfortunate, as it seems that the vast majority of undergrads know these older students only by virtue of their positions as teaching assistants in large lecture courses. Yet opportunities abound to move past these relatively shallow connections, particularly in the realm of research. In fact, the undergraduate research office can promptly place you into such a research position; I have found it to be one of the best-run offices on campus. In my case, I engaged in a graduate student's project at the Geisel School of Medicine this past summer. My mentor spent an immense amount of time teaching me the fundamentals of genetics and microbiology. He put at least as much work into teaching me as I put into the actual research project, if not more. Although it may seem difficult to "squeeze in research" while also managing a full courseload, it is incredibly worthwhile for any student who really wants to be intellectually engaged on campus. Lecture-based learning and individual instruction from a graduate student are two completely different experiences, with the latter being by far the more favorable and engaging avenue. Although large lectures here are actually small lectures by the standards of many colleges, conversational interaction and explanation provides a greater depth of learning that can't be found by just listening to lectures and staring at powerpoints.
I recently participated in a program put on by the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, called Language and Cultural Exchange. For those who are interested in learning new languages but loathe the procrustean mold of a language requirement and drill, this is a highly underutilized resource. The program matches participants with an international graduate student who is the native speaker of the language he or she wishes to study. Before traveling to China this summer, I worked with a Chinese graduate student in the computer science department and learned some basic Chinese. We would Skype on a weekly basis or meet in the library and spend half the time on Chinese, and half the time on English. Although neither of us were education, English, or Chinese majors she specialized in computer science, whereas I have mostly taken sciences classes in college the tutorial arrangement worked incredibly well. Despite the possibilities offered by free mutual tutoring, the program does not appear to receive the undergraduate participation that it deserves. For any undergraduate wanting to learn a new language, why not take advantage of the graduate population here at Dartmouth?
Finally, I recently joined "OneDartmouth," a group meant to bring students in all graduate programs and undergraduate classes together. Although there has only been one event thus far, I enjoyed meeting graduate students from Thayer School of Engineering, Tuck School of Business, the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and the Geisel School of Medicine mixed in with a diverse collection of undergraduates. Membership in a group that serves to bring together students from every level of education on campus represents a truly unique opportunity. We shared dinner and discussed broad campus issues and topics, but I was mostly interested in the students themselves, their experiences at Dartmouth and the work and research they were doing in their respective fields. Meeting people from every corner of campus really shows the variety of disciplines and studies at the College, which is something I might not otherwise have been exposed to.
Given my positive experiences interacting with graduate students at Dartmouth, and particularly in research, I hope that other undergraduates will try to engage this population on campus.
