Just made it past the first term of my third year. It is crazy how fast time passes. As I reflect on the time that has passed, I am grateful for all of my experiences but at the same time I am looking forward to the future. So far, completing this engineering degree has been a little tough. It has thrown me a lot of curve balls and there have been days where I have struggled to make it through but now, I am in it for the long haul! I am glad that I was able to power through those difficult classes because it has made me a better person for it. With the support of this scholarship, I am able to explore my passions and challenge myself to my fullest extent. This scholarship has made a unique impact in my life because it has helped me finance my education whilst giving me a platform to express my thoughts and reflection. For all of you college students and even high school students reading this, I want you to know that it is ok if you struggle because college is supposed to make you but ultimately you must never give up! Things will change and that is fine. I came in with Biomedical Engineering aspirations but quickly found I was more passionate about how technology and business intersected so I took courses accordingly. Freshman year was two years ago but I still remember it as if it were yesterday. I came in thinking that college would be a similar to high school and that my old habits would get me through and I got a big wake up call. College forced me to work harder than I ever did and that freshman fall I struggled. It took some time but after a couple of semesters at Dartmouth I found out what worked best for me. I am also using this same approach for the rest of the time that I will spend at Dartmouth. i am being more strategic about my time there and also trying to maximize what I get out of my experience. Ultimately, I am very excited for the future because with anything new, it provides me the opportunity to learn.
All in all, this is a time for me to take a step back and breathe for a bit before dive back into the storm that is collegiate life. I will be with family and friends and enjoy the rest of 2017 before it ends. To all those reading, Happy Holidays!
Dave