New Year

Suffice it to say that I, David William Royal, [skateboarder, computer programmer, ex-professional tennis player, ex-neuroscientist, beach-lover, sketch artist, and NAVY brat] am experiencing culture shock - and loving every minute of it! Although it's only been a few weeks since moving from Nashville to Hanover, I've already fallen in love with my new surroundings. I've even caught myself referring to Hanover as 'home' on more than one occasion. And this is a complete surprise considering that I had had some concerns that I would find it difficult to understand 'Northerners' and their peculiar accents and traditions. For example, what's this stuff these Northerners call 'soda'? I'd swear it's what we Southerners call 'coke', but I'm too much of a Southern gentleman to correct them. Besides, "when in Rome...".

I could go on for paragraphs about how charming and wonderful Hanover and New England are, but I want to focus this blog entry on my early experiences as an applicant and a graduate student at The Dartmouth Institute (TDI). First, I can't praise TDI's faculty and staff enough for making the admissions process the most transparent and painless I've ever experienced. TDI's emphasis on the human element makes its admissions process unique among all of the public health programs I investigated. To put this opinion in context, I spent two consecutive months last year driving across America in search of the best public health programs available, visiting each one multiple times in order to find "my place". What impressed me the most about TDI's admissions process was how thoroughly it emphasized "fit" over raw statistics. My conversations with the Head Recruiter, Alex Thorngren, and the Program Administrator, Karen Tombs, made it very clear that TDI was in the business of creating a balanced class of students from a wide variety of backgrounds and skillsets, and that the professional development of its students was high on TDI's list of priorities. Based upon the résumés and profiles of my classmates, I have to say that TDI absolutely hit it out of the park in terms of their constructing a class rich in experience, character, and personality.

Second, my first weeks at TDI have been absolutely amazing! To set this up, Dartmouth just went through a changing-of-the-guard with the appointment of a new President, Dr. Jim Yong Kim. For those unfamiliar with President Kim's accomplishments, he's a human dynamo who's a veritable poster-child for the term "change agent" in the realm of health care. In fact, President Kim was awarded a MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant in 2003 for his work with Partners In Health to lower the cost of treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis among the poor. Suffice it to say that President Kim is now on my "Hero List", along with the likes of my Dad and Abraham Lincoln (as well as Optimus Prime, but that's a story best told over drinks). Now then, I had the privilege of joining representatives from a cross-section of Dartmouth's many graduate schools at a formal dinner hosted by President Kim. The purpose of the meeting was to share with President Kim our impressions of what makes Dartmouth great, and more importantly, where and how we feel Dartmouth can be improved in the realm of graduate education. Like most universities, Dartmouth considers itself primarily an undergraduate institution. Hearing President Kim formally declare his commitment to elevating the status and quality of graduate education at Dartmouth was profoundly satisfying.

Dinner with President Kim was certainly a thrill, and I was honored to have the opportunity. Given President Kim's passion for healthcare reform, I wasn't at all surprised when he made an unscheduled visit to TDI the next morning to share with the incoming class his long-term vision for TDI, and for the important role we students were about to play in the movement to reform healthcare. It's difficult to convey just how uncommon and unique it is for a president of a university, any university, to make time to personally thank students for joining a university's family. I can't speak for the rest of my class but for me, this was one of those rare moments in my life where I recognized, in the moment so-to-speak, that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Third, the classes have been incredibly satisfying, full of healthy discussion and engaging debate. Because Dartmouth is on a quarter system, each class is a little longer in duration (typically 4 hours), but the classes don't drag on endlessly. Each class period is organized into discrete sections that flow seamlessly together, helping create a very dynamic and exciting classroom/community experience. You can tell that the course administrators and teaching assistants have put a LOT of time and effort into creating an environment conducive to learning, and more importantly, to exploration of ideas and concepts about which each of us is passionate. While the material comes at us at a pretty good clip (again, it's a quarter system), the workload is completely manageable, and most of the work is performed in small groups to allow each student an opportunity to offer personal insight on the topic of discussion. What's more, the material is presented and organized in a way that blends theory and practice, ensuring that new information is always presented in its proper context. And this last point has been a source of great relief considering that a number of public health programs focus too heavily on theory and rote-memorization of names and dates, in my opinion. I'm angling to help reform health care, and to do that effectively I need the ability to hang ideas and concepts on a more practical framework, and TDI's professors are experts at this. Of course, I don't want to give you the impression that the work's a cakewalk. I'm now in my third week and already I've pulled 5 all-nighters, but that's mostly because I just happen to enjoy working.

Having said that, please understand me correctly. A TDI experience is so much more than just work; it is definitely about the personal and professional relationships formed with one's professors and classmates. Even though it may sound like we (or I?) work 24/7, we are all having a blast outside of the classroom as well. For example, although Hanover is a healthy distance from major metropolitan areas, there are plenty of adventures and activities here and nearby. Within the last week I've: 1) attended a ballet performance at Dartmouth's Hopkins Art Center by the incredible Santa Fe Company, 2) attended an open lecture by an eminent Dartmouth neuroscientist on how the human brain uses a 'physical vocabulary' to interpret music, 3) danced my shoes off at the weekly Swing lessons sponsored by Dartmouth's Student Activities Board, 4) relaxed at The Dirt Cowboy coffee shop in downtown Hanover where I had the most amazing peppermint tea ever, 5) got lost in the woods behind my house while trying to locate The Appalachian Trail, 6) got lost in Vermont while searching for a swimming hole, and 7) volunteered my time at David's House, a guest house for families living far from a primary care facility and whose children are being treated at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

In short, I am excited and proud to be at TDI. I can't imagine taking this journey at any other university, or in any other setting. This is shaping up to be a fantastic experience, top-to-bottom! If any readers would like to contact me for further information, please feel free to reach me using the contact information provided below.

Cheers,
David Royal, Ph.D.
MS Candidate, 2010

email: david.w.royal@dartmouth.edu
mobile: 615-294-6051

Thanks!

The 2009 school year is over and a new group of students will soon take over the TDI student blog. Before they do, I want to thank the students in the class of 2009 that contributed to the creation and development of this blog. In addition to publishing blog posts, these students achieved impressive goals this year.

Recent updates to Shannon’s list of career paths below include the former blogger that will enroll in Case Western’s MD/PhD program in the fall, and the TDI grad that will work as a special assistant for new Dartmouth president Jim Kim. My next few months will include continued blogging on health and health care at Justmeans.com, and starting a job with the health group at a nonprofit think tank.

The TDI staff also deserves credit for developing this blog. Karen Tombs was particularly helpful in creating this forum for students to reflect on TDI experiences and in helping us maintain a publishing schedule. Thanks to all the staff and student blog contributors, and good luck to the TDI class of 2010!

-Sam W.