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!
If you've read my post about why I chose Dartmouth (which I highly recommend doing!) then you understand my choice to attend Dartmouth was very much a decision I didn't think was plausible. I didn't think it was possible for a kid from the rural country who had always struggled financially to attend his dream institution. Attempting to get into Dartmouth seemed like an intangible dream; like something I could aspire to but never have control over.
What I'm beginning to realize is that the biggest goals I could even think of setting for myself (like getting into Dartmouth and thriving here) are tangible, realistic, and certainly possible. Like many things in my life, all it takes is determination and a series of making the right choices to achieve that goal. Let me give you a few examples of how this has hit me particularly hard at Dartmouth:
During my first few weeks on campus, I was eager to get involved with some kind of weather/climate research here on campus. In my mind, there were obvious roadblocks: you're supposed to "settle into" Dartmouth before you take on any rigorous roles, and there isn't a distinct meteorological department here, so I thought I was sort of in limbo for my academic interests for a while. This was not the case. The phrase "if there's a will, there's a way" is the story of my life within these past few months. I was fortunate enough to get in contact with a professor in the Earth Science department, Dr. Erich Osterberg, who talked to me about my interests. I took his meteorology class and wrote a formal research proposal my first term. I just did a formal presentation on my first research project this past weekend. I was so stoked!
I was totally cheesin' while giving my presentation!
Another example of a "why not?" in my life came with finding summer opportunities for my first "off-term." Just to give you a little bit of insight, the Dartmouth "D-Plan" allows you to take multiple terms away from Dartmouth's campus over your four years here if you so choose. I thought my first summer away would be an awesome opportunity to make connections and get some practical experience. The flexibility of Dartmouth's academic schedule allows for you to branch out and find your niche! Over winter break (known as winterim at Dartmouth), I was researching different meteorology/climate science internships for the '22 summer. I came across a few that I thought would be neat, but one stood out in particular: the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory internship at Princeton University. At first I didn't want to apply; I didn't want to get deterred because I knew I couldn't get this position. Not this early in my career. But... here comes that "why not?" statement. Why not me? I'm willing to put in the work. I'm determined. I wanted this, so I chased it and got the position.
I can't wait to see what experiences I will have at the GFDL this summer!
Being at Dartmouth and immersing myself among some of the brightest people I've ever met has been a humbling experience. At the same time, it has allowed me to realize I should continue to chase my biggest aspirations even if they seem implausible or out of reach. Every single time I've made the decision to just "go for it" under the "why not?" mindset, I've benefited from it. I want you to remember this. You. Are. Able. Go after your biggest goals. Dartmouth has helped me adopt this mindset and realize I can do these things, and I'm so grateful.
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?
