My name is Brandon De Otaduy Nam, and I am currently a student at Dartmouth College from Mexico. I come from a pretty diverse background, with a Mexican dad and a Korean mom. I am a squash player, but I also really enjoy playing golf and tennis.  I love technology, so one of my hobbies is learning about the latest computers, phones, and tablets through YouTube videos. Right now I think I’m going to major in Economics and possibly also Government.

I was confident about my writing coming to Dartmouth since my high school focused a lot on developing the writing skills necessary for college; however, I have learned a lot in my writing 5 class and now in my writing seminar. Last term, my teacher focused on being able to adapt your writing skills to different types of writing formats. We worked on three projects, each one with a different style that forced us to apply our skills to different types of essays. For example, our first project was a traditional thesis first essay, while our second project was an adapted version of the IMRD format. Because of this class, my writing skills developed so that now I feel ready to convey whatever I want to say clearly, even if it is in a format I am not used to. Now in this writing seminar, I’ve learned to write about a subject I was not very familiar with, art. We not only had to analyze pieces of art, but we also had to put them in context with the social and political environment of the time the pieces were created. Again, being forced to think differently and write about things that I’m not used to, helped me develop my writing significantly. I feel confident that I am well prepared to adapt my writing to whatever format or subject I am faced with in the future.