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!
It still seems surreal to me that someone with my background can do the things I've only ever seen in movies—attend professional conferences, meet with CEOs, and work at scientific laboratories. As I write this, I am overlooking the Chicago skyline on a blistery December night. Around me are buildings that reach up and poke the clouds and lights that rival the number of stars in the sky. It's breathtaking. I remember the nights I would fall asleep back at home, surrounded by fields and immersed in complete silence the country life brought me. These are two different lives; one that I was given and one that I'm pursuing. I'm in Chicago on a funded trip via the internship program that I participated in this summer to present research. After a night full of networking with professionals who are in the positions that I dream to be in, I've already gotten a keen sense of the questions I should be asking and the philosophy I should have on life to be successful as a young student.
I've alluded to this point a bit in my previous blog posts, and I don't think it's advice that's exclusive to career prospects; it could be used in the college application process, finding volunteering positions, you name it. Today I talked with several PhDs, policymakers, government scientists, and the broad takeaway message I got was this:
Don't be afraid to put in a little work and take it upon yourself to better your future. College admissions and the application process is a perfect example. For many students, opportunities, advice, and guidance won't be handed to them, and that's okay. It takes a little bit of effort to self-teach, research opportunities that sound interesting to you, educate yourself on the process, reach out to people, cold email whomever, and put in the work. It's the exact same for careers as well; nothing will stop you except for yourself. Don't let anyone say you can't do something—including yourself. You are your biggest advocate at the end of the day. So, if you want something, don't expect that it would be handed to you. For some, that may be the case. Some people live their entire lives with things handed to them. Most don't. For those who haven't, I'm talking to you. It's always worth the hard work you put in. Go out of your way to become familiar with something you want to achieve. Whether it be a specific career, a certain college, or a volunteering opportunity, reach out and educate yourself. It's always worth it.
At Dartmouth, I've met some of the most hardworking people I've ever known. That fuels me to push myself even further, and it's a symbiotic relationship that will inevitably lead to academic and personal growth. It's just a simple facet of life in my opinion; if you want something bad enough, then you need to put in the time and effort to achieve it. Sometimes you will get help along the way, and I've gotten tremendous support at Dartmouth—whether it be networking, research opportunities, mentorship, etc., I'm grateful for the help I've gotten. Despite that, I will never stop putting in 110% in all of my pursuits. The more life I live, the more I stand by the importance of self-discipline and work ethic.
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
