Student Snapshot: Nora White '24

Nora White '24

Nora White ’24 is a community engagement fellow and double major in international studies and economics who served a high-impact internship at the U.S. Army War College. Below, she discusses the benefits of getting involved with the Carlisle community as a student-leader and volunteer, the flexibility of both of her majors and the ways in which her volunteerism, college courses, internship and extracurricular activities are helping her to zero in on what she’d like to do professionally after graduation.

Hometown:

Raleigh, North Carolina.

Majors:

International studies and economics.

Clubs and organizations:  

Community Engagement Fellow, Admissions volunteer, Dickinson College Democrats, Economics Majors Committee and Women in Economics.

Best thing about my Dickinson experience so far:

The community!

Best thing about my major:

I love the flexibility I get within both of my respective majors, allowing me to concentrate on my specific areas of interest. For me, double majoring was always about combining my interests and being able to look at the world from different perspectives. I think that both the economics and international-studies departments have allowed me to explore while challenging me to step out of my comfort zone.

Favorite class/learning experience so far:

It’s hard to pick, because I have had so many unique experiences, but if I had to choose just one, I would say Oral History of the Bosnian Diaspora in Carlisle with Professor of History Karl Qualls. We got the opportunity to learn about the Bosnian war, which took place in the 1990s, and then interview local residents who survived the war and genocide and resettled in our community. For me, it was a great opportunity to see the real implications of conflict and displacement while simultaneously getting to meet and get to know some members of the Carlisle Community.

Favorite place on campus:

Althouse Hall.

As I kid, I wanted to be …

… an architect. Clearly, that is not exactly the course that my life has taken me thus far, but I think what I liked most about hypothetically becoming an architect was the element of problem-solving. I believe that the path I am on now still draws on my childhood interest but takes a more people-oriented approach to working to do better and positively impact the world by solving (or attempting to solve) some of the biggest challenges facing our world.

Most important thing I’ve learned so far:

The value of reaching out to people! I've learned that many people in my network want to help and support me; I just need to ask. I think so often that it's easy to get caught up in social anxiety and worrying about how people could react, when the reality is that 90% of the time, people are willing and able to help you.

About my internships:

During summer 2022 I had the pleasure of interning at the U.S. Army War College's Center for Strategic Leadership here in Carlisle. I was interested in this internship because it allowed me to explore the crossroads of my economics international-studies majors. The decision of what I want to do when I grow up has always been a terrifying question for me to tackle. However, working at War College has helped me to explore my interests in a wide variety of different areas. While I don't know exactly what I hope to do in the future, this internship has made me more excited about the possibilities.

I also have been a community engagement fellow at the United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County. I have always had a background and interest in nonprofit work, having interned with a couple of nonprofit organizations from my hometown during my first year at Dickinson, while we were learning remote. However, what excited me about working at the United Way here in Carlisle was the opportunity to engage further with the Carlisle community. Through this internship, I learned more about the Carlisle community and how caring and compassionate so many people within the community are. While it can often be easy to get sucked up in the distractions of college, it has been nice to be able to stay grounded and get out of the college bubble and make a difference.

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Published January 11, 2023