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!
I recently recovered thousands of photos under my high school google account that I thought I'd lost indefinitely-photos of me when I was a kid, my first day of senior year, hikes with my little brother, etc. When I started looking through these pictures, it became obvious just how much "life" I'd gone through since starting college. I think it's easy to get caught up in the final plan for your career after college, but living in the moment is something that I've tried tirelessly to do. Looking back at these pictures has taught me the importance of living in the moment, especially during college. Before you know it, you'll be halfway through your time at Dartmouth wondering where it all went. Then, you'll go back and sift through all of the pictures and the memories will come flooding back to you in an instant.
I'm certainly an advocate of putting the phone down and taking in the experience with your own eyes, but there's something special about recording a snapshot in time that you can have forever. That's what these pictures reminded me of. Over the past few terms, I've been so focused on academics and searching for internships that I've forgotten to capture the moments that are special to me. Looking back, I took many pictures during my first few terms on campus. When I took on more responsibilities later in my first year and especially during the start of my second year, I neglected to take as many photos, and these pictures aren't just for me. The pictures act to remind my family back at home (who don't have the means to visit me in person) of what I'm up to here at Dartmouth. Whether it's an early morning hike among the pines or a pictures of my late afternoon lunch, I consider it a privilege to document these moments in time.
What I'm hoping to convey is this: through whatever channel works for you, fight to remain in the present moment. Of course, it's necessary to be forward-looking to a certain extent, but I would argue it's even more crucial for your mental health to remain in the present moment. What do you see? What do you hear and smell? Take in your surroundings. For me, photography has been a way to remain present and capture a small moment that means something to me. I'm by no means a skilled photographer, but you don't need to be, and that's the point. It's a way for me to document my progress here and to keep that present mindset. I challenge you to find something that does this for you. What ways can you think of to remain in the present moment? It shifts around for me but reading a good book (that wasn't required reading), fishing, taking a nature walk, and photography are my go-to's for being present. If you find yourself worried too much about the future, take a breath, relax, and ask yourself, how can I think more about the present? It certainly is a gift! -Master Oogway reference…. Also, here are a few pictures I recovered that you might enjoy!
Probably the best photo I've taken of a towering cumulonimbus cloud back at home!
Here's me, Mom, and Dad at my high school graduation!
This is a picture of my first sunrise hike (sunrike) at Dartmouth! Just take it in....
Here's a heartwarming picture of me, my mom, and my brother. It's photos like this that remind me I'm supported no matter what!
Here's a Missouri Bootheel sunset.... they don't make them like this anywhere else!
This is my brother and I during our trip to the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma! I'm thankful I can look back at all these memories through my photos!
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!
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?
