From many accounts, deciding on a major can be the most difficult decision of a student’s college career. The most popular majors as of last year’s graduating class were as follows: 111 Education graduates; 89 Safety Graduates; 87 Psychology Graduates; 66 Management Graduates; 63 Communications Graduates.
When coming to the decision of choosing one of these majors, there were a lot of choices to make. The Academic and Career Advising Center here at KSC will help students make these difficult decisions. An Advisor at the center, Gloria Lodge, has given students some helpful tips on deciding on a major.
First off as an Advisor, Lodge said her job is to help undecided students pick a major they love. She meets with them when
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they first arrive to make a plan for the year and then again down the line to make sure they are on the right path to success. Lodge said, there are two types of advisors available to the students here at Keene State College. The first is the Academic Advisor; these advisors are great for starting students off in the entry level courses and helping making sure that students meet the Integrative Studies Program (ISP) requirements.
The second type is the Career Advisor, these people help students prepare cover letters and resumes and look at the types of careers that are available to the student depending on the major they are pursuing. The Career Advising section of the center also puts on seminars in the fall and spring for doing well in interviews, to help seniors get ready to enter the workforce. Lodge also said she recommends that students try to meet with the faculty in the major they decide on.
The faculty knows a lot about the area they teach and can offer students different advice for jobs available to them after college. Lodge said she recommends finding an advisor that has the student’s best interest in mind, an advisor that the students fit well with, and she wants to remind students that it is okay to change advisors if the fit isn’t right for them. Junior at Keene State College, Stephanie Taylor, stated why she loves her major.
“My major is dance with a specialization in performance and choreography. The reason I am majoring in dance is because it truly is my passion. I’m drawn to the art form and the impact I can have on an audience. When I came to Keene State I had already intended on majoring in dance, in fact that is why I chose to come to Keene,” Taylor Stated.
She continued, “I have had classes with all of the professors in the dance department and love each and every one of them. The classes have challenged me in a way that has helped me grow immensely. After I graduate college I intend to move to the city and audition for companies and dance professionally. My goal is to create art that can transform someone’s opinion on what it means to be a dancer. I love my major for the simple fact that dance is the truest form of expression and I am my truest self when dancing!” Taylor said she is very passionate about her education here at KSC, and her dancing is a perfect fit for a Major. However, not all students are as lucky when it comes to picking a Major as Taylor was. KSC sophomore William Wilde has struggled with finding the perfect match for him.
“I started off here at KSC with a film major in mind, but I realized halfway through the year that I didn’t fit in well with the film crowd and I realized I didn’t want to make film a job when I love it as a hobby,” Wilde Said. Wilde is now pursuing the Criminal Justice Major with two minors in Writing and Journalism.
Choosing just one Major is not for everyone though, a fifth-year student here at KSC, Jenn Plummer who is one of many students with a double major. Plummer is double majoring in Literature and Writing with three minors in Psychology, Physiology and Women and Gender Studies. She said she didn’t always know that this was what she wanted to do. Plummer said she came to Keene wanting to be a Writing Major, but quickly changed her mind when she saw how many English and Literature courses overlapped making it easy to major in both. Not every student comes to Keene State knowing what they want to do right off the bat, but first-year student Molly Fabrizio, did. Fabrizio is majoring in one of the most popular majors here at Keene State College; Education.
She said she hopes to graduate with a degree in Secondary Education and History. Fabrizio said, “I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but it wasn’t until junior or senior year of High School that I decided on Secondary Education and History.”
Although Fabrizio knew what she wanted to major in from the start, Lodge said it’s perfectly okay for first-years to come to KSC and not know what their major will be. “It’s fine to be undecided at first,” stated Lodge, “ I just recommend that any student who is undecided to make an appointment with the Advising Center often to stay on track.”
When it comes time to declare a major, remember it’s okay to switch advisers if the first didn’t work out; it’s okay to not know what major to go with coming into school; it’s okay to major in multiple areas. Finding the perfect major is up to the student, but the student will always have help along the way.
Heather Fougere can be contacted at hfougere@kscequinox.com