Lily Neher ’23 knew from the start that she wanted to major in dance. It’s something, she says, that has always been part of her. So it’s natural that the UNH program drew her here.
“I loved the flexibility that the dance program offered and how strongly they encourage double majoring,” Neher says. “I was able to double major in communication and dance and had incredible advising support at every step.”
Funding Neher received through R.E.A.C.H. (Real Employment and Career Help) allowed her to achieve one of her key goals: during the summer of 2021 she was able to enroll at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. “I studied contemporary and jazz with leading professionals and was able to perform at the historic Apollo Theatre in Harlem,” she says.
Neher also received a merit-based scholarship from the Arthur Balderacchi Fund for Study Abroad in Italy and studied with the University Studies Abroad Consortium for Business and Communication.
During her junior year, she interned with the UNH social media team. This year Neher has been an intern with the St. Martin Career Advising Office. She also hosted a weekly radio show on the student radio station, 91.3fm WUNH, Durham, where she has served as production director and member of the executive board for the last two years. A member of Kappa Delta Sorority, she is also involved with the UNH Ballet Company. And she has done all this, and will still graduate on time, despite taking a semester off.
“I cannot express enough how helpful the departments of theatre and dance, and communication, and the Honors Program advisors were in making my somewhat miraculous seven semester double major possible,” Neher says. “It took a lot of hard work and planning, but also a lot of frantic emails to Mike Wood (administrative manager, theatre and dance) and Andrew Sharp (academic/career counselor, communication) who are incredible problem solvers. One thing about COLA in my experience is I have never been told ‘no’ to my sometimes overly ambitious plans, and that is why I was able to do so much despite taking a full semester off during the pandemic.”
