Class Note 2024. In October Kristin Chapman moved to Atlanta to start a new position as an associate producer with CNN. “I had previously been working with CNN in Washington, D.C., in a temporary role, and this was an exciting opportunity to help contribute to one of its shows in a more permanent way. Friends from Dartmouth made my time in D.C. so special. There is such a strong Dartmouth community there, so I was nervous to start over again in a new place where I thought I might not fit in as well culturally, being from the suburbs of New York City. But support from a few Dartmouth friends in Atlanta—including Annie Ballard, Davis Leath, Nellie Ryan, and Jack Reilly—and a kind and welcoming environment at work has made my adjustment so much easier. At work, I primarily cut and edit videos for our show, CNN News Central, and help producers visualize segments by selecting videos for air. My supervisors care a lot about developing the more junior members of our team, so I’ve had opportunities to write and produce shorter headline segments, which has been a highlight of the work for me. It’s so exciting when something I write or pitch makes it to air. In February the dean and advisory board of Dartmouth Thayer School of Engineering visited CNN, and I got to show them around. It was so cool to hear their questions and learn from one of the directors in the control room about how all the technical elements work to get the show to air. Following the tour, the leaders and alums from Thayer invited me to celebrate with them at a dinner and reception. As an English major, I was fascinated to learn about what Dartmouth’s engineers are accomplishing and how they’re approaching problems such as climate change. Outside of work, I’ve enjoyed becoming a member of Atlanta Track Club and attending Tuesday “club nights” at Piedmont Park, where I was lucky enough to spontaneously meet Eric Greenlee ’18 and Sophia Miller ’22. In March we ran Atlanta’s Publix Half Marathon with our friends from run club—a memory that I’ll cherish forever! I feel grateful for my smooth transition to Atlanta so far and am excited to continue settling in here. With the absence of my physical family who live up North, the power of the Dartmouth family ’round the girdled earth has helped me feel at home.”
Eugene Park just completed her first year at Georgetown Law in D.C. She’ll be heading to Korea this summer for a legal internship, where she’ll help with research and translation while developing skills that’ll prepare her for her postgrad career.
Sophia Rubens is pursuing her Ph.D. in physics at McGill University, where she’s a member of the Cosmic Dawn Group and Radio Lab. She traveled to the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) near Penticton, British Columbia, to help build receiving elements for the Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector (CHORD). CHORD measures hydrogen emissions in “slices” of the universe to determine how underlying matter density evolves and support a deeper understanding of dark energy. Additionally, CHORD studies radio-transient sources such as pulsars (neutron stars formed from the collapsed cores of a star) and fast radio bursts to learn about the structure of the universe from the way the signals are modulated on their way to Earth. Sounds as though Sophia’s well on her way to supporting NASA’s next mission to the moon!
—Anaïs Zhang, 16 Hamilton Road, Brookline, MA 02446; anais.c.zhang@gmail.com