Meet this week’s Campus Celebrity, world traveler Annie Molinaro! After studying abroad in London her junior year through a program at UNH, Annie found a passion for traveling and world discovery! Learn all about our latest celeb and how she is continuing to foster her interests right here on campus through the Center for International Education at Hood House!
Year: Senior
Major: Communication with a Psychology minor
What made you interested in interning with the Center for International Education?
I’ve always loved traveling as long as I could remember. I studied abroad in London my junior year and when I came home I attended a CIE Global Ambassador Program. I went to a panel that helped us to adjust back to life in the United States because it honestly can be a hard transition after being in a different country for four months. Global Ambassadors is a program made up of UNH alumni who studied abroad during college and work to help students with their whole study abroad experience.
So, after my experience in London and learning about the Global Ambassador program, I decided that I wanted to work for the CIE. At the end of the fall semester my senior year, I sent my cover letter in to the CIE and explained how I love traveling and talking about my own time while abroad. They said that they don’t usually have interns, but I was able to get an internship position for the semester for class credit!
What does the Center for International Education offer students here at UNH?
Their main job is to help kids go abroad and find the perfect program for them. They have a lot! The CIE offers 500 different programs for students. There is a program for everybody!
Discuss the project you’re currently working on for CIE.
My job mostly involves social media outreach through sources such as Facebook. Sometimes I will talk with students that may have questions and give them little tips for a successful abroad experience. I find that it is easier and more comfortable for prospective abroad students to ask other students certain questions rather than adults. It definitely helps that I went abroad and can share my experiences with them.
Right now, I am also working on filming a documentary for CIE. The video features interviews with UNH students who have studied abroad in unique or different places such as Morocco or Russia. I ask students about where they went and talk about the specific details of their trip like where they lived or how they got around the city or country. I am making this documentary to push kids outside of their comfort zone while putting peoples’ minds at ease about traveling. I think this film will give UNH students another perspective to the study abroad experience. I am hoping that the documentary will be finished at the end of April or early May!
What did you think of your own abroad experience in London?
I loved it, I was nervous to go but it was great to push myself and get out of my comfort zone. I personally loved being in a city compared to being in a rural area. I loved public transportation because you have so much freedom. You never get bored in London since there is so much to do and see. It is really modern and it was fun to watch high-powered people going into their office buildings every day; they are all so sheik looking!
I was also able to travel around Europe. Poland was one of my favorite places to visit. My roommate and I saw Auschwitz while we were there! Although we knew it would be sad, I figured that this was a trip that we would never take again in our lives and we might as well take the opportunity to see it. That weekend we sat outside under heat lamps, eating goulash and drinking hot wine. It felt like a fairytale! I also loved Barcelona, Spain because the city is so fun and alive!
What other clubs/orgs are you involved with here on campus?
I am a member of Lambda Pi Eta which is the National Communication Association and I am involved with Comm-Entary which is the Communication undergraduate research journal published right here at UNH. I also work at the gym in the Whitt.
When she is not busy working on campus, this Campus Celeb can be found at Libby’s, at a nearby coffee shop, exploring Nubble lighthouse in Maine, or binge watching her favorite shows on Netflix!