6 minute read
Your First Office Hours
Dartmouth professors are prominent leaders in their fields and dedicated teachers in their classrooms, but some of their most valuable work happens when they sit down with students one-onone. A great opportunity for those mentorship moments is during office hours, regularly scheduled times when professors make themselves available for review, extra instruction, or any other topic that’s on their students’ minds. Visits intended to answer a quick question often evolve into in-depth conversations that profoundly impact a student’s college experience.
When we asked members of our faculty if they had any advice for prospective students, their responses sounded a lot like the lessons Dartmouth students have reported learning during office hours. Consider this your first visit.
Your First
“DON’T WORRY IF YOU DON’T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER
to that absurd question, ’What’s your passion?’ We’re not expecting you to know what your ’one true calling’ is yet! Your time here at Dartmouth will give you lots of fantastic opportunities to explore diverse interests and follow various curiosities, which will let you learn not just about the world but about yourself.”
Eugene Korsunskiy / Associate Professor of Engineering
“STAY CURIOUS, PRACTICE KINDNESS, AND ASK FOR HELP.
Take seriously any invitations for self-reflection— inside and outside the classroom—and know that you have time, that you are not supposed to have it all figured out. Breathe.”
Sienna Craig / Professor of Anthropology and South House Professor
Office Hours
and your interests will change, too—choose a school that allows for that change and for exploration, rather than a place where you are locked into a major or school or area of study from the start. Look for opportunities outside the classroom that will help you become part of a community where you can thrive. Choose a college where you can feed your sense of curiosity and find the most moments of delight.”
Lorie Loeb / Research Professor of Computer Science and Faculty Director, DALI Lab
“AS AN INCOMING DARTMOUTH STUDENT,
you will receive a lot of advice about choosing a major. Here’s mine: don’t major in the field that you think you should study or that someone else wants you to study. Instead, major in what you love to study. The enduring value of a Dartmouth liberal arts education lies not in the acquisition of a store of knowledge but in the discovery of different ways of thinking and learning. Will you define academic and career success according to what others tell you or according to what you find exciting and rewarding?”
Edward Miller / Associate Professor of History
“A FRIEND ONCE ASKED ME WHY I WAS SO WISE,
and I replied, ’I’ve made a lot of mistakes.’ I said it so quickly, I didn’t know I felt that way until that moment. It’s a fair example of the power of spontaneous intelligence, the way what you know reorganizes around answering a question. When you don’t speak up in class, you keep yourself from learning what you already know, so ask questions and answer them—this is why we are in that classroom, to do this together.”
Alexander Chee / Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing
“IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU GO TO SCHOOL;
it only matters who you are. Because, although you’ve heard it many times before, it really is true. Wherever you go, there you are. So be there, with everything you have. Be heartful. Be vital. Be a good friend to others and to yourself. Then, you will love wherever you are. And it will love you.”
Russell Muirhead / Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics; Co-Director, Political Economy Project
Go to a place where you and other mentors who to explore and grow. Learn
“ALWAYS REMEMBER THE TALE OF TWO WOLVES,
battling within us. One is all that’s negative in the world while the other represents joy, happiness, love—all that’s positive and lifeaffirming. Which wolf wins the battle? The one you feed. Nourish the positive wolf.”
Trica Keaton / Associate Professor of African and African American Studies; Affiliated Faculty, Departments of Sociology and Film & Media Studies; Faculty Associate, Corsortium of Studies in Race, Migration, and Sexuality
“GET SOME SLEEP. The remarkable array of academic opportunities and co-curricular activities at Dartmouth can be a little overwhelming—so many great things to do and not enough time to do them. But sleeping less so that you can do more is almost never a good idea. So, make sure that you consistently sleep at least 50 hours a week. It will make every part of your life better.”
Paul Christesen / William R. Kenan Professor of Ancient Greek History
“ACADEMIC TERMS AT DARTMOUTH ARE SHORTER
than you are used to, and they are faster paced. Although you participated in four or five extracurricular activities in high school, don’t do that when you get here. Pick one extracurricular, do it well, and only once you get the hang of Dartmouth should you think about adding in more.”
Thomas Cormen / Emeritus Professor of Computer Science
“DOES DARTMOUTH FIT THE NARRATIVE
that you’ve developed for college? Can you see yourself taking certain Dartmouth classes; studying in specific places (on campus or abroad); having conversations with the Dartmouth students you’ve met; participating in a club or program you’ve read about; walking to class on a brilliant fall afternoon (or a very cold winter morning)? To be clear, your experience will never conform exactly to what you predict (which is a good thing), but this is a great exercise for determining if you’ve found your people and your place.”
Charles Wheelan / Senior Lecturer and Policy Fellow, The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy
“MAKE ROOM FOR FAILURE. Think of how
much you learn from playing games, for example—how you’ll go back time after time to accomplish something after failing over and over. Try to see life that way, and let yourself fail sometimes. Success is all in the follow-through. Try something weird. Sometimes solutions come from left field. Think wildly and keep your sense of wonder as you solve old problems with new approaches. Make gratitude a habit. Gratitude is good for you, for others, and for the planet. When we feel gratitude, we experience life totally in the present. There’s no room for worry, doubt, and distraction.”
Mary Flanagan / Professor and Chair of Film and Media Studies and Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor in Digital Humanities
“MY BEST ADVICE AS YOU HEAD TO COLLEGE
and into life is to resist the temptation to play it safe. Take chances and be adventurous—in your social interactions, in your selection of courses and major, in your choice of a career. Contrary to everything you’ve heard, your GPA does not define you, and my fondest hope for your time at Dartmouth is that you discover the delights of the life of the mind.”
Randall Balmer / John Phillips Professor in Religion
can thrive. Find professors challenge you and help you from your (brilliant) peers.
—Brendan Nyhan / James O. Freedman Presidential Professor in the Department of Government
“MAKE TIME FOR BOTH ACADEMICS AND FRIENDSHIPS.
There can be temptations to go off balance in both directions. Rather than seeking out friends, seek out activities you enjoy; there, you’re likely to find meaningful connections. Value your friendships and spend time nurturing those that support you.”
