Laura Clancy wasn’t sure she wanted to attend UNH. The daughter and sister of former Wildcats, the Rhode Island native initially wanted to attend a larger school, perhaps farther away. But now, looking back on her UNH experience, she knows it was the right choice. “UNH has everything I wanted: research, study abroad and internship opportunities, and diverse classes,” she says. “I’m so happy this is my school!”
A double major in sociology and justice studies with a minor in Middle Eastern studies, Clancy has explored many areas of interest during college. The winner of a UNH foreign language award for Arabic, she put her English and Arabic skills to good use during the Washington Center internship program as an intern at the Enabling Peace in Iraq Center, a non-profit organization. Clancy researched and wrote weekly reports on political, humanitarian and economic events in Iraq. During spring 2020, she studied in Budapest, Hungary, through the Justice Studies Program. “Everyone says you gain independence and a more worldly view by traveling abroad. Traveling during the pandemic only added to that belief (for me),” she says.
This year, Clancy is completing her honors thesis on nationalism and patriotism in college students and the impact of this ideology on their views of Middle Eastern foreign affairs. The project brought her together with her favorite teacher (and advisor) Catherine Moran, principal lecturer in sociology. Moran helped Clancy shape her year-long independent research study on the existence and trends of coastal elitism, which Clancy presented at the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference in 2019.
One of Clancy’s favorite college experiences (aside from cooking) is being a campus tour guide. “It’s an amazing way to meet new people from all over the country, practice public speaking and connect with other UNH students of all majors and years,” she says. She now works with Admissions as part of the program’s student advisory board.
Clancy is applying for fellowships after graduation and hopes to return to Washington, D.C., to work in policy analysis, international affairs or social research. “I think my experiences at COLA and practicing independence and self-advocacy will serve me well after graduation,” she says.
“I don’t think there’s any other college where I could dual major, minor, study away, study abroad and still graduate in four years. It’s an incredibly welcoming and supportive community.”
