By: Harrison Leone
Sports Assignment Editor
If anyone were to ask why I became a history major, the answer would most accurately be “my dad.” Between feeding me a steady diet of the History Channel and taking/dragging me to hundreds of museums, national parks and monuments for many of my formative years, my father groomed me from day one to study the past.
While I personally have no issue with my choice of major, I have encountered a curiously high number of people who take umbrage with my degree path. Their critiques are well-worn: Some say, “There are no careers in history!” I’ve heard countless times before: “Don’t you think you should be doing something a little more…useful? One extraordinarily ignorant man said to me, “What are you going to do, open a history store?”
These judgments are just the ones told to me personally; many other degree choices in the liberal arts and humanities have been the targets of similar condemnations.
The study of the so-called “soft” majors has lamentably declined into a position of disrespect and scorn among many students. They are seen as suitable only for those students without the intellectual credentials to hack it in a more “practicable” field or for the misguided souls who have the audacity to not have their lives planned out at 20.
College education should be a two-pronged endeavor. Obviously, students should seek to gain the skills necessary to find employment after graduation. Often, the traits sought by employers, such as punctuality, efficiency, interpersonal skills and effort can be obtained regardless of which specific major a student chooses to study.
According to Princeton University, “the number one skill employers look for is good communication skills.” Given the staggering costs of university education, it cannot be denied that students should approach their education with an eye towards cultivating marketable skills to make a return on their investment. With an optimistic attitude and a dedicated work ethic, any course of study has the potential to offer these benefits.
Secondly, the degree path chosen should be something you have a genuine interest in. It’s hard to imagine a worse collegiate experience than toiling away for four miserable years forcing yourself to choke down information that bores you to tears.
Higher education is a unique privilege that should be used not only for the interest of future monetary gains, but to develop passions and personal interests. Take it from one of the most prestigious unversities in the country if you don’t believe me: in the words of Yale University Career Services, “while the major a student selects should indicate a strong interest in that discipline, majors need not necessarily influence or determine career choice.”
It helps to bear in mind the randomness and fluidity of most of our academic trajectories. It has been proven year after year that a person’s plans at 18 may be radically altered by the time they reach their sophomore year and may be unrecognizable by their graduation day. According to a study done by Kansas State University, 70 percent of college students will switch majors at least once during their time in school. I’ve heard tales of freshman biology or physics majors realizing they hate biology or physics. They end up doing an academic pirouette and taking up journalism or sociology instead. It takes courage and self-awarness to accept that your initial plans may have been flawed and to swich to a course of study that better suits your talents and interests.
The best advice that can be given to an incoming student, or to anyone who feels uncertain about what to devote their undergraduate years to, is study something that interests you. Don’t stress about having an uncertain road map of your life and whatever you do choose to pursue, do so with vigor and purpose.
Regardless of whatever major a student may choose, it is equally important that they remember to keep their options open. Don’t be afraid to stray from your path if an exciting, intriguing opportunity presents itself. Having a nebulous, ill-formed notion of where you plan to go in life, while prehaps not ideal, is preferrable to stuubornly refusing to open yourself up to change and adventure.
See you at the history store.
leonehj11@bonaventure.edu
