Life has taken a very different turn than Molly Greenwald, a transfer student, originally imagined.
“Utah is a very different environment from here, and being there has made me realize how much I love New England,” Molly said. Originally a student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Molly returned home to study when she realized she needed support from her family.
“Being away from home made me appreciate and really value what I have here at home, in New Hampshire,” Molly remarked. While she was away, she lived on her own and wound up working two jobs while still going to school, and living from paycheck to paycheck. “It was rough,” Molly commented, “but I’m glad it’s a thing that happened. I learned so much.”
After that, why did she pick UNH Manchester?
“My dad went here and graduated last year,” Molly said, speaking of her father William, who graduated in December of 2013. “It’s not too far from home, and the classes are small, which is something I really like. Plus,” she laughed, “It’s cheaper since I don’t have to pay for laundry.”
The youngest child in a family of businesswomen and engineers, Molly is majoring in Politics and Society. She is looking to either attend graduate school for international relations, or enter the Navy after graduation and serve as an intelligence specialist.
“I figured that since my family has been in the Navy for several generations, I might as well keep up the tradition,” she said of her thoughts to enter the Navy. “My grandfather and uncle were both submariners, and this is the first generation in six in which someone in my family hasn’t been in the navy, so I figured ‘why not?’”
Picking intelligence was more or less of a no-brainer for Molly. She is currently learning two languages, German and Russian, and already speaks Spanish as well as her native English. She has always been intrigued by the work that goes on behind the scenes within international relations. Choosing intelligence was “the perfect thing.” She said, “I have the brain for it, and the capacity to do anything I set my mind to. Plus it gives me a purpose, being able to do something for others that they can’t do for themselves.”
“This program is perfect for me,” Molly said. Here at UNH Manchester, the Politics and Society program combines both political science as well as sociology. It makes for the perfect environment to study for a basis to enter the world of intelligence, especially in regards to terrorism, which is the subject of one of her current classes.
“People are fascinating. They’re so interesting. I mean, I like taking a look at people and saying, ‘Why did you do that?’ and then figuring it out. Putting pieces together, throwing in politics and ideals and beliefs, that’s what I like to do. Humankind is essentially similar, but it’s the differences that make everything interesting.”
