Latest Posts
Religion is very often, if not always, defined by your prophet, the one you and your fellow believers have ascertained to be embedded with the most divine essence. For Muslims, this is Mohammad; for Christians, this is Jesus Christ; and for Buddhist, this is Siddhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni Buddha). And quite…
The beaded Mao tassel swung rhythmically from the rearview mirror as we came to a stop in the Beijing traffic. The air conditioning was too cold, but I savored the goosebumps. Even in the airport, it was obvious that Chinese people preferred the heat over the cost of comfort. The…
After three weeks of working alongside one another, the five artists living in Gamli Skóli (myself included) decided to host an exhibition. In the weeks prior, when we were not making art, we were busy befriending island locals and inviting them to our open house. I woke up on exhibition…
With my backpack in my lap and the air conditioning angled just perfectly at my face, I enjoyed an hour long ride to the Great Wall. When we arrived, students clambered out of the bus into the wet air. It was one of those days where the humidity felt like…
My first month living in Yogyakarta was busy and exciting. The first few weeks were especially hectic—so hectic that I barely had time to slow down enough to fully realize that I was living on my own on the other side of the world. This was good, however, because it…
A few weeks ago, I visited Jonah and Coomi of Bitterleaf Tea at their Kunming studio. Bitterleaf is known for beautiful teaware and beautiful photographs of said teaware, thanks to Coomi’s pro photography skills, but they also have been sourcing and pressing high-quality puer since they opened business three years…
In a jet-lagged haze, I travelled northward to an island off the coast of another island. After taking a plane, a bus, a van, another plane, a taxi, a bus, and a ferry, I finally arrived in Hrisey, Iceland, the ‘Second largest island in Iceland’ (approx. 3 sq mi). In…
Upon entering my senior year at Davidson College, I will have completed a full year of research under Dr. Nicole Snyder toward our investigations into new treatments for drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. After a summer and two semesters of conducting this research in Dr. Snyder’s lab, I now have the…
“Greetings from the other side of the planet.” This is how I begin all of the postcards that I have sent from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I am writing this blog post from a coffee shop 10,000 miles away from both my home in Atlanta and my home-away-from-home in Davidson. It took…
One year ago I knew little-to-nothing about Kosovo, Europe’s newest country — although it remains a partially recognized and disputed territory. So how exactly did I end up pitching and winning a crisis reporting grant to spend nine weeks “alone” as a journalist there? Simply, British journalist and author Carlotta…
The use of data to make decisions in sports is nothing new, but the technologies now available to measure athlete performance and interpret data have come a long way. This summer, we interned under the guidance of professor Tim Chartier for Athlete Intelligence, a sports technology and data analytics company…
“Always in the big woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the unknown, and it is your first bond with the…
A Tibetan friend who studies in a university in my home city, Guangzhou, asked me last summer when we were chatting, “Have you ever listened to Tibetan rap songs?” I had never heard of Tibetan hip-hop before, let alone Tibetan rap. What does it sound like? What are the songs…
It was a great experience to wake up, grab a yogurt and decide where I wanted to work on any given day. Would I work in the office I’d been borrowing in the library? From the study room in the dorm? In the outdoor classroom? That was my routine starting…
Hello, Davidson Community! It’s Sarah Gompper here, writing on a rainy afternoon from my tiny room in Berlin. I designed an independent summer journalism project after feeling a bit bummed that I didn’t go abroad during the year. I ended up receiving a Dean Rusk Grant, and now I’m here…
“Passion is the mission when looking for singularity. You looking like a drone. Oh boy! That’s hilarity. I’m asking life to marry me… It’s a proposition, cause we need more brothers who itching to chase ambition…” That’s a snippet of a rap I wrote and released a little over two…
On Feb. 19, 1942, 75 days after the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed an executive order creating “war relocation centers,” designed to confine “threatening” domestic groups. This wartime law concerned Japanese-Americans. Facing hostility, families had to choose: stay in the “safety” of your own home, or move…
Should they stay or should they go? “Ultimately” not a hard choice for the DUFF (Davidson Ultimate Frisbee Folk) seniors, whose crew team made it to the USA Ultimate national finals tournament… scheduled for graduation weekend.
Ever since my first day of Saturday morning German school, I’ve looked forward to traveling to Germany to experience the culture I’d grown up only hearing about. And ever since the first presidential election I can remember, I’ve looked forward to the day that I would be able to cast my own vote and have my voice heard. For me, these two long-awaited, much-anticipated events coincided.
Dear incoming freshman,
You are about to experience one of life’s great transitions—far greater than any (cringe-worthy) middle and high school moments you have experienced to date. As you prepare to leave home and enter the mysterious ecosystem of college, a bit of advice: Remain aware that although the road that leads there is an eventful and exciting one, it also ends faster than you’d ever think possible.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds that life on campus can induce claustrophobia. The academics, time constraints and being surrounded by the same 2,000 students every single day can get old. We talk about the “Davidson Bubble” on campus a lot, but what is Davidson like when…
When people think of London they may think of the Queen, Big Ben, double decker buses, the tube and tea. And of course the accents. But rarely do people consider London an exotic location for study abroad. After I decided to study abroad junior fall, I narrowed my choices to London…
It was 1:30 a.m. when my mom and I boarded a bus in my hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina. The energy on board was palpable, with people handing out snacks and posters, swapping stories and eagerly anticipating what was to come. The bus was headed to the Women’s March on…
The great musician, Duke Ellington, once played a song titled “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be.” I am constantly reminded of this, looking at my yearly faculty photos, where I see myself gradually transforming into a gnome! We almost take it for granted that we can access massive information storehouses…
On day one, I gave my parents a quick hug and waved goodbye as if I was leaving for the weekend. As I watched them walk away, I was tempted to run after them, hide in the trunk and go home. Instead, I distracted myself with what seemed like meaningless small talk questions…
I often take happiness for granted and assume that laughter comes with ease. I forget that some smiles fade too quickly and dark memories persist despite a moment of light. I realized this privilege as I observed 10 preteen girls slouch in their chairs with their long ponytails dangling…
My summer experience was set in motion last fall, when I traveled with Davidson’s program based in Tours, France, and we made an excursion to the Fondation Claude Monet in Giverny, just over an hour northwest of Paris. With every passing minute, winding through the most amazingly beautiful garden I’d…
I can feel the rough concrete behind my back as I wait for the rain to start. The wind is picking up around me, stirring the loose hairs around my face and tickling my cheeks. I close my eyes to soak in the feeling of the wind in my hair…
In only the span of a month, I’ve watched four vaginal deliveries, the insertion of a uretic catheter and an autopsy. Wow! This summer, I traveled to Africa with Dr. Secret, Dr. Case, and eight other Davidson students for the Davidson in Zambia program. After a 15 hour flight to Johannesburg,…
Even though I grew up in Silicon Valley, I never thought of myself as a tech kind of gal. While it was cool to live near Google, Apple and Facebook HQ, I didn’t have much interest in computer science, which I assumed was a prerequisite for 99 percent of the…
If you asked me just three months ago what I would be doing this summer, I would have never imagined I’d have the opportunity to intern in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. When I received my internship offer from Dronamics, a startup that develops unmanned cargo aircraft, I was a…
19 plane rides, 6 countries, 5 languages, 4 time zones, 3 months, 2 amazing internships, 1 unforgettable summer. Hallo, Deutschland! Only 10 weeks ago, I left Raleigh for my summer research internship in Düsseldorf, Germany. For the next eight weeks, I completed a part of my chemistry thesis research under…
Flying signifies to me the beginning of a new journey. And from the moment I landed in the Nepal airport, I knew I was about to experience something different. I had always wished to visit Nepal–the beautiful scenery, the mesmerizing spirituality, the welcoming community, and so much more. And recently,…
Living alone for the first time is hard enough. Living alone for the first time, working 40 hours a week in an industry you’ve barely touched – data analytics (as a likely English major) – that’s a little harder. But like most Davidson students, I like a good challenge. Had…
“Are you okay?” is often what I’m asked when someone I don’t know well passes me and notices that I’m mumbling to myself in German. To most of my friends, my mumbling doesn’t really come as a surprise anymore. It’s something that I’ve been doing since spring semester when I…
Last year, I was in the heart of the Colombian jungle, seeking answers as to why the production of a fruit that a whole village depended on had significantly dropped. Fast forward a year, and I am stuck in the D.C. metro – among its multiple repairs and detours –…
If anyone told me three years ago that I would one day have the privilege of living and working in New York City, I would immediately have laughed at them. The reason being, before arriving at Davidson College, certain opportunities seemed more like fairy tales, or wishful thinking. Yet the…
My first month at MicroSio (which will undergo a name change soon) has been a really enjoyable learning experience. I’ve been tasked with everything from market research to designing experiments in the lab, and I’ve found my Davidson liberal arts education extremely helpful in preparing me for a Swiss Army…
Back in February, I was standing in Dr. Shelley Rigger’s office asking about some form I needed to fill out when she asked me if I was planning to study abroad and where. I told her about my situation and how being a student-athlete made study abroad during the academic…
Only two weeks of my internship had passed when I heard “trial by fire,” a phrase that I hadn’t realized I was missing until a prospective member jokingly described my job as such. I laughed it off but quickly realized how appropriately it described the way I was feeling early…
My fall semester spent studying environmental policy in the EU opened my eyes to the intricacies and excitement of the energy industry. After one semester of readings and lectures, as well as a trip to the Paris Climate Summit, I was hooked. I knew I wanted to pursue an internship in…
This summer, I am interning at PR Collaborative, a small “boutique” public relations firm in Washington, D.C., serving clients in both policy and film. As a policy intern, I mostly work with foundations and campaigns addressing public health issues. Working for an alumna, Kate Reuterswärd ’09, has been such a…
In typical Davidson fashion, I don’t really know what I’m doing – but I’m attempting to work it out. Over the past two weeks, I have been thrust into the business world, wholly unprepared for the challenges and breadth of acronyms that awaited me. I arrived on day one to…
As I walked through the terminal, what I knew of the Czech language came rushing back to give me some confidence heading into my solo effort. Navigating the trams and the metro to get to my apartment was a breeze. At dinner, ordering that beef goulash with potato dumplings and…
For just less than half the month of Ramadan I fasted in solidarity with my co-workers at the Solidarity Center-Rabat Office, my Muslim friends around the world, and the cultural mores of this beautiful country. Whenever I tell Moroccans that I’m fasting, they ask the logical follow up: “wash inta…
It’s easy for young adults to to feel like we “drive the future”, which is a phrase often heard in speeches and articles around graduation season. As far as generational responsibility goes, the fate of our future is a pretty big one, and can lead young adults to exaggerated ideas…
Nervous and exhausted, I was welcomed with open arms by my host mother, Um Muhammad, at the door of her beautiful home. Anxious about sleeping in a new bed, new home, and in a country foreign to me, it suddenly hit me that I was actually there—in Amman, about to…
I don’t think I have had a conversation, whether it be casual or academic, about any social issue or major problem in our world that didn’t bring up education as a necessary step or solution. Usually it seems like focusing on the youngest generations is the most optimistic option. Theoretically,…
