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!
Sometimes, perhaps more obvious now that I'm maturing, it's about the people you surround yourself with and less about what you're doing and where you are. I took a dramatic leap in pursuing my future career this summer; I participated in a summer internship that pushed me intellectually and professionally. It shaped me and allowed me to gain insight into what I want my future career to look like, which is worthy of a separate blog post altogether (be on the lookout). Something I've struggled with my entire life is personal relationships. Whether that is due to a unique family situation at home to put it lightly, or the fact that I had always been a little bit socially awkward, I'll never know. What I do know, however, is that Dartmouth has taught me intangible things that I don't think I could have learned so quickly anywhere else.
I met some incredible people at Dartmouth when I first came to campus in August of 2021. I was scared, anxious, excited, and I had no idea how a kid from rural Arkansas with a country accent would fit in in northern New England. Those fears quickly subsided when I had my first interactions with other first-generation and low-income students. So many of my peers were interested in my life story, asking questions about what life was like on the farm or how it felt to drive down the country backroads. They were always kind and supportive, something I think I lacked for a good deal of my life. They showed me that kindness, in the face of adversity or self-doubt, can take you a long way. I learned to embrace the importance of friendships and true relationships during my first year at Dartmouth. That lesson has translated very well to the friendships and connections I formed this summer. Just to highlight a few of these friendships:
Just about as formal as me, Luke, and Arnie get!
Me and my good buddies Ryan and Rebecca!
My dude Hayden—the fishing friend!
Me and my co-lead for First Year Trips 2022, Diana!
In all honesty, this summer has been a little stressful. I'm writing this post just after delivering my final presentation of the project I've been working on for eight weeks. I'm burnt out and ready to lay down on a couch and do nothing for a few days. The work has been great, and I'm glad I had this experience, but what has really made this internship worthwhile is the people I was able to meet. It was absolutely amazing to meet the other interns who had similar career aspirations to my own. Whether it was sharing silly reality TV show opinions during lunch, going to the beach on a whim, or walking through Times Square together, I'm so appreciative of all the memories I've made with my fellow interns. We showed each other support during a stressful time in our lives. It reminded me of the same support I felt at Dartmouth when I first arrived, a kindness that beats out all the nerves and anxiousness.
The interns and I decided to go with the "courtroom pose" for the group pic. No regrets.
Somewhat unexpectedly, I formed some great relationships with some other college students this summer who were on their respective summer programs. To make a long story short, I met this group of students when I asked to use their spices in the common kitchen to make my usually bland chicken taste a little better. We hit it off. Over the next eight weeks, I maintained an awesome friendship with each of these students. We ate dinner together almost every night and learned about each other's shared college experiences. The most striking thing I realized from speaking with these students was how kind, generous, and humble they were in every conversation. Though obviously brilliant, they entered every conversation with the intent of learning something. Although we are all going our separate ways this summer, this is exactly what I needed this summer—true connections and healthy relationships. I have the Dartmouth community to thank for me being able to realize the importance of this. I miss Dartmouth and the friends I was able to make, and I can't wait to be back in the fall. I saw hints of Darty in the people I met this summer and how they made me feel, and I'm entirely grateful for how my character has matured as a result.
Me with the summer program students—what a great group of people!
My first time in Chicago at the Society of Women Engineers Conference in Chicago, Illinois! Fully funded by Dartmouth, I had a great time meeting amazing companies and getting to know fellow women engineers.
From orientation week to your classes, you can easily find community at Dartmouth! Read on to know how I met my Dartmouth family and where you might also find yours.
