Meet Your Graduate Studies Senator: Jared Fry

Jared Fry not only serves as the graduate studies senator but he is also the ambassador for the School of Accountancy and runs Utah State University’s VITA program, a free tax service for students and low-income families. He has been active on campus since his undergraduate years, working with service groups and as an officer for clubs.

“I like being able to give back to the university and kind of find ways to help improve what’s going on,” Fry said.

Despite all his involvement with USU, this semester marks his first time working with student government. Fry said when the applications for the position came out he saw it as an opportunity to improve students’ lives outside of just the accounting major and to improve himself.

“Having all these meetings where you’re publicly voicing your opinion and you’re representing all the people beneath you pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Fry said. “That was appealing to me.”

Throughout his life, Fry has made a habit of challenging himself and looking for ways to be a better person. 

“He’s so crazy but, like, in the best way,” said Carson Wolf, Fry’s girlfriend. She said he is what every college student wants to be like.

Fry is a graduate student himself, studying accounting. Last summer, he got an internship in London with one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, Deloitte, but when he returned he knew he wanted to stay in Utah. Recently, he signed a contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, in Salt Lake City, which is also one of the largest auditors in the world. 

Wolf said Fry would FaceTime her while he was in London and gush about his love for public accounting. 

“He’s such a nerd,” Wolf said with a laugh.

Fry’s 100% effort does not stop with his affinity for accounting. It included getting his first date with Wolf.

“I was taking a stats class and I’m terrible at math,” Wolf said. “So he’s like, ‘Oh, I’ll help you with your homework.’” 

Wolf was living at Valley View Apartments and Fry at Blue Square at the time. He told her he would take the campus’s evening shuttle, but it had already stopped running for the night so she said she was going to go home.

“He’s like, ‘No, I’ll meet you halfway up the hill,’’ Wolf said. “And he did. And brought an umbrella.”

And it turned out he knew nothing about stats.

They capped off the attempted study session with “How I Met Your Mother,” a show they watch together nearly every day now.

Besides his consistent hard work, Wolf said Fry’s best traits are the passion he brings to everything he does and his ability to pick up new skills, like cooking. He was able to teach himself and become very good at it very quickly. 

“So he cooks and I clean, and that’s the deal,” Wolf joked.

In order to stay on top of all his commitments, Wolf said Fry manages his time flawlessly. He wakes up and goes to bed early, finds time to work out, attends all his meetings and classes, keeps up with his academics and eats lunch with Wolf every day while still making time to visit or call his family.

Fry’s twin, Justin Fry, admires these traits about his brother, too. He said Jared Fry can effectively set his own hours and wake up early in order to help people and participate in volunteering opportunities he wants to do.

“He’s making a lot of sacrifices that demonstrate his ability and ambition,” Justin Fry said.

Justin Fry attended USU with his brother but now pursues law at the University of Utah. Although they are twins, he said that he is the older brother, even if it’s just by 12 minutes.

On top of his many responsibilities, Jared Fry still stays close with his family. He has a younger sister who lives at home with their parents in Morgan, Utah. He makes the hour-long drive to visit them whenever he can. 

—william.bultez@aggiemail.usu.edu

@willistheginger