Greetings from the woods! My name is Gavin Fry, and I'm a student blogger with the People, Places, and Pines team. I'm a proud first-generation college student, carrying with me the full support of my crazy family. I plan to be involved with undergraduate research, outdoor activities, and club golf here at Dartmouth! You can find me geeking out about the weather, reading novels, and always drinking coffee (at any time of the day). So nice to meet you!
Academic Program
Prospective Environmental Earth Science Major with a Minor in Public Policy
Favorite Thing Right Now
My idea of starting a chapter of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) here at Dartmouth!
Oh. My. Goodness. What a fun class this was! As a certified weather and climate geek, I was totally entrenched in everything we done in this course. From the labs and weather presentations to the "flipped" classroom experience, I thoroughly enjoyed this class. Dr. Osterberg's excitement for the course material made it that much more enjoyable! It was truly an extraordinary first-year course to take.
I’ve loved this class from beginning to end. For one, I enjoyed it because of the people in it, but I also loved it because of the content. Through frequent class discussion, I learned about the health of our democracy and the ways it is compromised. Very enlightening class!
Religion 5 was a quintessential liberal arts course that deepened my knowledge in a subject I thought I had all figured out. As a STEM-oriented student, this class offered the perfect balance to my spring term schedule. As a result of this class, I became more introspective of how I was raised, and I'm more grateful in my ability to be a free-thinker.
SummerOff Campus Internship - Princeton, New Jersey
This summer, I explored my future career plans by participating in a research internship with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University. I learned a lot about what I want (and what I don't want) in a future career, and I made so many awesome lifelong connections!
A course rooted in both philosophical theory and real, practical methods of becoming a better public speaker was the highlight of the term. Our class of 16 students grew to be a sort of "mini-family," and I'm so grateful for the connections I made. I completely changed the way I view public speaking and homed in on my own skills as a public speaker!
Once again, a course outside my major found its way into my favorite class list. This sociology course helped me better understand how children are viewed in society, the way sociologists study youth, and the major differences in norms around childhood around the world. Who knew there was so much to learn about youth culture!
Applying to College – What Someone Should Have Told Me
I love my hometown and the people I grew up with. It's where I made my lifelong friendships, learned how to drive, had my first job, and many other memories I don't have time to recount here. The biggest downside to coming from a place like mine is that college really isn't a priority in the local high schools. I didn't have a clue what the common application was, how financial aid worked, or anything of the sort. Somehow, someway I was able to navigate my way through and I wound up at my dream college. It's a bit of a long story on how I finally came to apply to Dartmouth, but you can read a bit about that in a separate blog post.
There's one main point I want to make here, and that's to take it upon yourself to research opportunities that aren't presented before you. In the latter part of high school, that was the story of my life. I was and always will be interested in weather, so I took it upon myself to look for volunteer opportunities that involved meteorology (the study of the weather) in my local community. I loved golf, so I worked with my school to get a golf team established. It's the same mindset for college. Although you may not have anyone to directly rely on, you always have yourself. In some circumstances, you may not have a guidance counselor to tell you what path to take. You may not have your parents to guide you along the journey. Your teachers may not know what the process is like. Overall, you just might not have the resources available to aid you along the way. That was my case, and I'm here to tell you it's okay.
Applying to college doesn't have to be as difficult and as stress filled as it was for me. Instead of looking at it through some mystical lens like I did, I encourage you to sit down and do some thinking. Research different schools and truly try and picture yourself there. I didn't have the financial means to visit many colleges, including Dartmouth. However, I took the time to really dive into what life was like at different institutions, and Dartmouth proved worthy time and time again. Take time to research what your financial situation looks like. How do your guardian(s) feel about you moving away? How will you pay for college? I strongly encourage you to analyze each college's policy on financial aid. How much aid will you get? How does your unique financial situation pair with the college's policy? My low-income background and Dartmouth need-based financial aid made it pretty simple.
Just balancing the serious talk with a pretty fall foliage picture!
It's really not that complicated, and this is coming from someone who, two years ago, had absolutely no idea whatsoever how to apply to a college. It just takes a little bit of determination to actually sit down, research what the process is like, and think critically about how your unique situation and desires fits in with the college application process. If I can get through it, I'm certain you can. I still can't believe I'm at Dartmouth. Day after day I tell myself how grateful I am to be here. That's a result of sitting down, reading, and learning about the process to apply.
Exploring Chicago with my fellow women engineers from Dartmouth! We explored the city outside of the SWE conference and got to see how exciting Chicago can be.
I applied through Questbridge's National College Match, but did not match. To others who also did not match, this is not the end of your application process! Here's what I did following match decision day.
Learn about the different programs Dartmouth offers prospective students to explore campus life, learn about Dartmouth, and enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Hanover!
Unlike some other universities, many of the STEM lecture classes at Dartmouth require concurrent enrollment in a laboratory section. What is it like navigating that time as a student?
As an international student, I was hesitant to join Greek Life, but I found a welcoming community. Now, as a junior, I hope to help others find their place too.
