College has been somewhat of a playground for me, though without the typical drinking and party scene. Academically, I have felt encouraged and ambitious enough to attempt a double major, and complete 2 minors.
My major in music had been a sure thing since no earlier than January of 2008, a month or so before auditioning, and before that, I had expected to major in something basic like Spanish. The music major I chose was a broad specialization – Liberal Studies, the former Undifferentiated option, and designed to revitalize interest at UNH in music history and create opportunities for more custom focuses, like ethnomusicology. The curriculum appealed to me, and the focus of the major seemed less performance-oriented – a plus for a self-taught amateur enthusiast. Once at UNH, I participated in both a lesson studio, and the Liberal Studies symposium group. Both were experiences of great value, and seeing the work of my peers in the history field is always sweetly humbling for me. I may know them from classes and UNH life, but I am always amazed to see the breadth of knowledge, different experience, and devotion they bring to their studies! The Liberal Studies experience– classes, professors, and peers – has seen me through 3 years now of UNH music, and in the last year, has inspired me to look towards graduate study in musicology as the next step in my academic career.
The very first class I attended at UNH (and, unless drivers’ ed counts, my very first classroom experience ever after 12 years of homeschool education) was elementary Italian, with Amy Boylan. My operatic vocabulary, functional but creaky, served me well as I found that already I understood Italian at a high level for this intro class. Professor Boylan suggested I enter Mayder Dravasa’s class the following semester and essentially skip a year’s classes – taking the beginning of 1st year and the end of 2nd year back to back. After this much Italian, I was ready for the UNH in Italy at Ascoli Piceno semester abroad, along with 17 other UNH students and piano professors Chris and Arlene Kies. Combining the classes at UNH with an independent study and my Ascoli classes, I had completed a minor with hardly any effort. My only regret was not paying more attention in Amy’s class when we learned about Italian menus and restaurants. I figured this would never come in handy, not expecting to be in Italy a year later..it would have been very useful!
Spring of 2010 brought me very close to declaring a second major in Linguistics. The subject matter fascinates me and the detailed work of surveys, syntax, and morphology scratched some serious academic itches. To understand accents, dialects, and why words look and sound like they do – the ultimate geek experience! I ultimately decided against the major due to the tiny size of the linguistics department – the music community, though small, is about 10 times the size of linguistics and allows for a little bit more cross-fertilization of ideas. I occasionally fantasize about a graduate degree or second B.A. in linguistics, and applying myself to the study of Italian dialects.
My farthest digression from music started around the same time as my classes in Historical and Comparative Linguistics. I took a class on Earth History with the chair of the Geology department, and again, scratched academic itch. Here was the grand panorama of evolution, plate tectonics, and the solar system. I was hooked. Over summer 2010, I made countless spreadsheets of major requirements, trying to configure a plan which allowed me to graduate on time and still hit the high points of two extremely divergent disciplines. In the end, class options limited the viability of said plan (and I do feel more competent in the humanities/arts than in sciences – if only I had had this discussion in high school!) and I will graduate with geology as my second minor. Geology, Italian, and linguistics are three fields dear to my heart which I still enjoy keeping up with – and hope to revisit over the years if I succeed in creating an academic career. UNH served me well in offering all these options. I would indeed “major in UNH studies” if there were such an option!
