HMP Minor- it's almost over!

I am so happy and honored to be an HMP minor.

There were obstacles in starting a minor during my senior year. Most people that I explained my dilemmas to would simply say "well, you tried!" as if I would ever give up something I felt strongly about. I am the type of person that will skip sleep altogether, work 5x harder than others, and do what I need to do to get where I want to be. Giving up was not on my radar. I was currently taking 2 HMP courses. I only realized the extent of my struggles to get this minor once the time and room schedule for spring semester was released. HMP 721 was not on the roster to be taught, a crucial course for the minor. Additionally, I had heard that my financial management course at Paul would satisfy one of the minor courses, though I had a hard time confirming that with anyone. There is no system for tracking minors within UNH, or specifically within the HMP department, which is a good reason for the lack of advising/communication available to minors. I met with a professor, who suggested I send an email, that landed me in the office of the director of undergrad studies for HMP at 8am on a Monday in November. I came prepared with several alternate courses at other institutions to satisfy the 721 credit and a plan to take 401 during J-term.

His advice and the joint approval from he and Dr. Bonica led to me taking an online Northeastern course for 8 weeks starting mid January, and both 401 and 722 during spring semester. It was a whirlwind of an 8 week stint between my courseload at UNH, a 16 week course condensed into 8 at Northeastern (trust me, corners were not cut), and a job. I think I am better for this experience. One of my comments at the end of my NEU course was that the material was bountiful, the expectations were high, the deadlines were often, but I proved to myself I could do it, and I learned more than ever along the way. If I had heard ahead of time how difficult and strenuous that class would be, I may have doubted my abilities. I gave it a go because I believe I can rise to the occasion. I never considered giving up, and I feel incredibly proud to be finishing my time here with such a great minor.