Each semester, Emma Templeton, a Ph.D. candidate and investigator for Dartmouth Social Systems Lab, sits down for coffee dates with a rotating cast of ambitious college kids. It’s part of her job as a resident fellow for Dartmouth’s East Wheelock House. The conversations that she has are as diverse as the young minds that occupy the dormitory. Some students are looking for academic guidance; some want help organizing a social event; and some just need a listening ear. “The experience can take so many different shapes," she says. "I’m never sure how it’s going to go when I show up."
While Templeton aims to inspire her residents, these conversations also inspire her own research in the field of social psychology. Sometimes, she noticed, she would have a moment of connection with students where everything seemed to lock into place. “I came at this from just the experience of talking with ...
