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!
Now don't get me wrong, I genuinely enjoyed winter term. Even though this was the first time I've experienced sub-zero temperatures and frozen eyelashes, I got to experience many cool things. I learned how to ski (at a beginner level), had a proper snowball fight, went sledding, ice fishing, and made snow angels. It was a good time. However, I went home for spring break and I quickly realized how dearly I had missed the "regular" outdoor scene.
First off, I'm a big golfer. Golf and an upper valley winter don't really match up too well, so I was ecstatic about hitting the course when I went home. Fast forward a few weeks and I was back at Dartmouth and not too long after, the golf courses opened back up! I have an even deeper appreciation for the game being able to play it up here, after months for the ground to thaw out. Everyone else that shares my passion for the game has the same mindset, so it was wonderful to bond with friends over the start of golf season. I realized that not playing for so long actually made me enjoy it that much more!
I even had the honor of introducing my good friend, Max Simba, to the world of golf!
Oh, yes. The entire top of my dresser is dedicated to golf.
Next comes fishing. If you asked me what my favorite pastime is, I would say fishing one day and golfing the next (I suppose it depends on if the fish are biting or if I'm hitting the golf balls well). The only reason I put fishing on here second is because I got to do a bit of ice fishing during the winter. It was really fun, but there is something about open-water fishing that you just can't replace. Here recently, I was able to get out on the water with some friends shortly after the ice receded. Although we didn't catch anything the first trip out, I know it's game on for the rest of the season. Plus, I got this picturesque photo. I mean, does it get any better than that?
Me and my friends fishing on the Connecticut River!
It was such a beautiful day! You can see the ice slowly receding...
The thawing out of the Upper Valley made me realize just how important these two activities meant to me. I think my passions for fishing and golfing were rekindled in a sense because I wasn't able to partake in them during the winter. The Hanover winter allowed me to explore new hobbies and have new experiences, but I'm also grateful that I can revisit my roots. It's so cool how different these two terms already are. Granted, I know it's only the end of week 3 (as of this blog post) in '22 spring, but it's so much more different than winter term. The funny thing is, I can't put my finger on what was exactly different. Other than the ground no longer being blanketed with snow, the atmosphere just feels different. The vibe is different. Not for the better or worse necessarily, they are just distinct. I know you will have your own experiences, and my perspective just reinforces the fact that Dartmouth is such a diverse and exciting place to be. One month you will be skiing down the slopes and the next you might be golfing in your short-shorts…who knows? It's so fluid and that's why I love it. I think this is especially unique to Darty, so come and make your own experiences. That's the only way you can truly understand what I'm talking about!
I have written about being a student worker plenty of times in the past, but I have yet to talk about one of my favorite jobs ever: ticket selling at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
On Monday, April 8, 2024, a phenomenal total solar eclipse occurred — and we happened to be within the path of totality. As a result, Dartmouth hosted a variety of eclipse-related events on- and off-campus. Find out how I spent the eclipse!
Traditionally, Dartmouth students take three courses during a term, but I decided to take four courses this term! Learn about course load and the academic system at Dartmouth.
