Camryn Luby has always had a passion for Italian studies, so when her high school didn’t offer it, she put together a plan: she would apply to UNH as a neuroscience major and later, if things worked out, add Italian as a second major or minor.
Ah, sometimes the best laid plans . . .
“In my freshman year, I was taking a humanities class taught by Nicole Ruane and suddenly realized it was the only class I really, really enjoyed,” recalls Camryn. “I looked into what it meant to be a humanities major and what careers it could lead to, and after meeting some professors, switched my major. I added an Italian studies major during my junior year and a minor in classics, since it relates closely to my interests in humanities and Italian studies.”
And faster than you could say, “Ecco!” Camryn discovered not only an academic program that let her pursue her passion but also her UNH community. From her professors, whom she describes as “caring” and “amazing,” to doing homework and participating in Italian conversation hour and different events held in Murkland Hall, she made friends with “wonderful people whom I never would have met otherwise.”
Outside the classroom, she is a proud member of Eta Sigma Phi, the Classical Honors Society at UNH, and EcoReps UNH, which does beach cleanups. The once “shy high school student” also created an Italian Club for undergraduate students. While Camryn has settled cozily into her campus academic community, she eagerly awaits participating in the Rome 2020 program, where, she says, she plans to put her Italian language skills to use, “while preparing for an independent research project and for writing my humanities thesis.”
Supported by several scholarships she earned from the Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies Department while at UNH, Camryn has taken advantage of everything the university has to offer. She has especially relished the opportunity to “focus on topics I genuinely enjoy with people who enjoy the same things.”
Says the graduate school-bound Camryn, “It’s important to love what you study because it may influence where you ultimately wind up working.”
