Favorite Tour Stop
Welcome, Wildcats! My name is Erin, and I am a rising senior majoring in animal science. For two years, I’ve been a student representative for UNH undergraduate admissions. Here are some of my favorite tour stops on our beloved campus. I hope that reading this will give you a sense of what a day in the life of a Wildcat is like.
#1: Wildcat Statue
The wildcat statue is my all-time favorite stop on the UNH campus tour. At this stop, we like to talk about UNH traditions and wildcat pride. We have a tradition called “pat the cat,” where students rub the nose of the wildcat statue for good luck. You will see students patting the cat throughout their UNH journeys, from their first campus tour to graduation day. Every UNH student has gotten good luck from our wildcat statue during their time in Durham. We love being Wildcats and we love to show our Wildcat pride, whether it’s by wearing UNH gear, going to our hockey games and witnessing the throwing of the fish tradition, or even just enjoying campus and student life.
#2: Housing
The tour stop focused on housing is another favorite among tour guides and visiting families. At this stop, we talk about UNH’s 27 residence halls and our own experiences living on campus. Four of UNH’s residence halls are just for first-year students: Alexander, Christensen, Williamson and Lord Halls. My first year at UNH, I absolutely loved living in Sawyer Hall, and it will forever be one of my favorite places on campus. To this day, I am still friends with my first-year roommate from Sawyer Hall, who is also a student representative. No matter where you end up, you’ll find that each hall really has its own unique community, as well as supportive resident assistants and hall directors. From living-learning communities to the sports-minded Gibbs Hall to on-campus apartments, you can’t go wrong with UNH Housing!
#3: Sustainability
Of course, the sustainability stop is on my top five because sustainability is in everything UNH does. UNH is one of only eight schools in the United States to have a STARS Platinum rating for sustainability. We could talk about how UNH goes above and beyond for sustainability wherever you are on campus. The food waste at all three of our dining halls gets composted, our cogeneration plant right on campus converts gas from a nearby landfill into renewable energy, and waste cooking oil from our dining halls is converted into biodiesel fuel to power Wildcat Transit buses.
#4: Hamel Recreation Center
This is another student favorite. The Hamel Recreation Center – or HRC – is UNH’s main campus gym. Inside, there are weight-lifting machines, cardio equipment, basketball courts, a bouldering wall, and so much more. There are also group exercise classes ranging from spinning to yoga, cooking classes in a demonstration kitchen, and a new outdoor pool. Better yet, everything’s included in your tuition, so all you need to do is swipe your student I.D. when you arrive at the HRC. UNH has 18 Division I teams, but we also have club and intramural teams. Our club teams are kind of like high school sports, where you try out and play teams from other schools across the Northeast. Our intramural teams are a little different. These are teams that you make with a group of friends to play other UNH students for fun – but don’t worry they still get competitive!
#5: Academic Experience
Everyone's academic experience at UNH is different, but that’s why I love to talk about it. As an animal science major, my experience is going to be vastly different from that of an English major, for example. However, when I’m leading campus tours, I always talk about my academic experience so students can get a general idea of what a typical day at UNH looks like. I have gotten a lot of hands-on experience in my major at UNH, which was something I was looking for when I was applying to schools. I take a lot of science and lab classes, but my professors know me very well because the animal science major is so small. My professors don’t just know my name – they know my strengths and weaknesses as well.
