Dear
2016-ers,
As
you draw near to the pre-registration period for Fall 2014, many of you are
approaching an important college milestone:
declaring your major. There are
a number of good articles on the internet that can give you ten steps, five
steps, etc… to choosing the right major, so I will not belabor those many
excellent points. I just would like to
share some thoughts that might be helpful for the Trinity student contemplating
that next step.
There
are many reasons for choosing a major.
The two most cited by college students are to train for a specific
career, or to learn as much as possible about a subject that one loves. If you are certain that you want particular
training, you should decide on the major that is can provide you with those
skills, like education, engineering or business. However, if there is a subject that you’ve
discovered you cannot get enough of, you should choose that area in which to
major. It is important to recognize that
with the latter, you do not necessarily have
to find employment in the area in which you majored. Those skills of discernment, critical
thinking, and writing that you developed as a philosophy or art history major
are sought after by employers, and will prime you for success in many
fields.
I
have been encouraging you over the past year and a half to use your common
curriculum courses to help you find the areas in which you excel, about which
you are passionate, or which develop or enhance your existing talents or
abilities. I have invited you to talk
with your professors, both in and outside of the classroom, about their
subjects, their own careers, their thoughts about your work and capabilities. I’ve promoted picking the brains of juniors and
seniors, as well as any Trinity alums that you may meet. Ask them tough questions about translating
their college experience into real world careers, but also ask how they
utilized their college enthusiasm and knowledge base in diverse ways. And if you’re
still stumped, take any one of the many online quizzes to determine areas that
might become your bliss (a rather fluffy, but fun example is the About.com College Majors
Personality Quiz).
"It's
an artful balance of synthesizing interests, skills, and personality strengths
while acquiring experience outside of the classroom—in the first four
semesters, if possible—that will lead to a more informed major choice,"
says Darin Ford, director of the Hegi Family Career Development Center at
Southern Methodist University. I
agree. That ‘artful balance’ is one of
the objectives of the common curriculum, as well as Trinity in general. You have developed experience in such
balancing since your arrival on campus in the fall of 2012, and you are being
asked to draw upon it now.
This
is one of those areas in which you will probably get more advice from family,
friends, spiritual leaders (and class marshals!) than you really need or
want. Ultimately, you are the only one
who can make the correct selection for you.
That selection may seem to close out a time of unlimited possibility,
because by choosing one major, you are by definition rejecting the other 42
majors offered at Trinity. However, you
are making the first of many life-enhancing decisions that will result in your
growth into a healthy, happy contributing member to society.
The
period of choice approaches.
Cheers,
Dr.
M
