Photo by Candice Brown
Center for Graduate & Professional Studies
UNH-Manchester

When it comes to making the best choice, Regina McCarthy is someone you want in your corner. As an Academic Counselor and Interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the University of New Hampshire Manchester, Regina guides students towards good academic decisions with patience, empathy, and "a wild and wacky sense of humor."

As of last October, Regina has spent twenty years at the small urban campus of UNH Manchester, though she didn't always have her sights on going into academic counseling; rather it was more of an "evolutionary process."

"I majored in secondary education." she said, "I always saw myself as an English teacher."

However, while obtaining her masters in College Counseling at Northeastern University Regina found herself gravitating towards academic counseling. A former colleague at Northeastern showed her an ad for academic counseling at UNHM and the rest is history.

"The job had my print all over it. The excellent academic reputation of the University paired with a small commuter college setting spoke to my twin desires for quality and life-altering work" Regina explained.

Regina's obligations at UNHM are numerous. Since she was hired originally as an academic counselor, the roots of Regina's responsibilities start there. She advises students on academic, career, and student life matters. Also, Regina supervises counselors who provide career services, study away programs, and services for students with disabilities. She finds time to teach one semester a year in the composition program, along with organizing academic monitoring, the college's graduation review and has a hand in coordinating the college's advance registration and orientation. The list continues as Regina tackles the added daily responsibilities of being Interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

Even with all these demands, Regina still puts her students ahead of everything else.

"It's all about the students," she said, making advising her top priority. "I will pretty much drop anything at the drop of a hat. Students are the work not an interruption to the work," she says.

Counseling and problem solving skills are the traits Regina falls back on to get through her diverse work day. She also relies on her understanding of the University's academic policy and practices in order to be able to make that information understandable to students.

"Students continue to remind me how lucky I am to get up every morning and go to a place I love to work with students who want to make their lives better."

It is the combination of commitment and the special environment of a college that motivates Regina.

"The University of New Hampshire's academic reputation drew me to the college, but what keeps me is certainly student development work and the fact that no two days are the same. The commitment to the community in which our college resides, and the student stories that higher education changes their lives for the better all make the college a wondrous place," she says.

The work she does at UNHM does not go unnoticed, as evidenced by Regina receiving the PAT Presidential Award of Excellence. This annual award is presented to staff members in recognition of outstanding performance and distinguished service to the University of New Hampshire. Regina was nominated by fellow staff and faculty.

"Being awarded the PAT Presidential Award of Excellence was exhilarating because of the public recognition for a job well done. Yet it was also humbling knowing the incredibly dedicated talent that works at the University" Regina mentions.

When Regina is not working, she enjoys reading a good mystery and being a parent.

"I would like to say I have strikingly original hobbies, but I don't. I am a parent, so worrying myself sick pretty much takes up any spare time I might have," she says.

Regina may not have the most unique hobbies, but the originality and dedication she brings each day to work makes her quite unique indeed.