Counseling Center works to help students find right major
How do students know if they are in the correct major?
Tyler Gilbert, a transfer from Edinboro University, is still not sure.
As a student at Edinboro University, he was a declared Criminal Justice major, but at Waynesburg University, he is an exploring major.
“I decided to change to exploring, because I wanted to see what else what out there,” said Gilbert. “I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and that was very stressful but also exciting to know that I had so many options.”
Jane Owen, director of the Educational Enrichment Program, Clinical Services and Counseling Center, is Gilbert’s advisor and has tried to help alleviate some of his stress.
“She has sat down with me and talked about my interests, what I’m good at and what I’m not so good at,” said Gilbert. “It has been a great experience working with her, and I would like to thank her for that.”
When Gilbert was trying to decide a major, his mom also gave him some advice.
“My mom got tired of hearing me complain about the fact that I had no idea what I was going to do with my life, so she made me write down three to four majors I was thinking about and had actual interest in, not something that I just thought was cool,” said Gilbert. “Then she made me fold them up and draw them out of a hat. She said if I didn’t actually like a major, then I would want to choose something else and she was right. That’s how I ended up with business. I’ve been interested in business since I have been here, and that was just a way for me to get an idea of what I was actually interested in.”
Along with Owen and Gilbert’s mother, Anthony Bocchini, professor of Business Administration, has also tried to help Gilbert decide on a major.
“I would like thank Mr. Bocchini in the business department for sitting down with me and giving me some extra guidance to help me decide a major,” said Gilbert.
Although Gilbert has not declared a major yet, he is leaning towards anything in the Department of Business Administration.
Students like Gilbert are found all around the Waynesburg University campus, and teaching is a profession most already know.
“Before you get here and take classes, how do you really know what you want to do?” said Owen. “You know what teaching is to some degree because you’ve been a student for twelve years, and you know what your parents do, but how do you know even about careers until you get here and start taking classes.”
There is no definition for knowing that you are in the correct major, but Mary Hamilla, assistant director of the Educational Enrichment Program and academic major decision counselor, defined it like this.
“I had a student in this morning who said ‘Once I made the decision, then I thought oh I don’t need to take any of those classes anymore. I knew it was right. It just felt completely relaxed,'” Hamilla said. “So it’s kind of intuitive.”
Owen feels the same way about knowing if a student is in the correct major for them.
“You know you are in the right major if you feel like you are in the right major,’ said Owen. “If you are getting good grades in your courses, if the courses that you are taking interest you and if you can see yourself in the future working in that field.”
Hamilla encourages students to find something that interests them and see if there is a way to make a living out of it.
“You have to do something that you personally care about and have some ability in, and if it is something that you can make a career out of, then you’re good to go,” said Hamilla.
Hamilla says that most students end up graduating as a senior with a different major than they came in with as a freshman.
“I might not know exactly, but statistically I think at least two thirds of people change their major,” said Hamilla.
Owen reminds the students that she sees that it used to be a trend to attend college as a freshman in their first semester without having a major.
“At one time, students wouldn’t even declare their major until the middle of their sophomore year, but now, we have majors that are so structured, and if you don’t start with those majors, you’re not going to graduate in four years,” said Owen.
Both Owen and Hamilla say that being a freshman exploring student or a student who wants to change their major in the end of their freshman or sophomore year is acceptable.
“It is okay,” Owen said. “I mean you are talking about the rest of your life, so even in the case of changing your major, may make you be here an extra semester. That’s better than being in a field that doesn’t interest you.”
Hamilla stresses to the incoming freshman who may want to go into the more structured majors at Waynesburg University, such as nursing or education, to take the classes for those majors, even if they are still undecided.
“We really work with incoming students, so if they have any inclination at all towards a major like [nursing], that’s really full of credits, we try to get them into those classes right away so that they don’t get behind. Then if they change out of it, it’s not such a big deal,” said Hamilla.
If any student is considering changing majors or have questions about their current major, the Counseling Center encourages these students to see their academic advisors as well as a counselor in the Counseling Center.