In college, a few simple facts seem to identify who you are as a person: where you are from, what year you are and what you study. While two of these defining characteristics are to some extent beyond your control, the choice of what to study is entirely yours — unless of course your overbearing parents decided for you at the age of 5. For those of you still at liberty to choose a field of study, programs like the Student Government Association’s “BYOBooks: Choosing Your Major Is No Minor Decision” — which was held yesterday on Hornbake Plaza — are wonderful opportunities to expand your horizons and discover some of the possibilities available to you on this campus.
If you read my byline, you will find that I am a senior government and politics and history major. Additionally, I happen to come from Takoma Park, Md. Between that and my stylish photo, you now know everything you need to know about me. But what that information doesn’t tell you is who I am, what it is I am passionate about or that I wish I had had the opportunity to participate in a program or event like the SGA’s BYOBooks when I was deciding on a major.
I came into the university as a letters and sciences student — meaning I was undecided about my major — with interests ranging from government and history to architecture and creative writing. I knew I was interested in a lot of things but had very little idea about what path to pursue. My approach to figuring out what to study was to take classes in a number of different subjects, get an internship and see what I enjoyed. However, what I did was choose popular subjects that I was already comfortable with.
In retrospect, I wish I had done things differently. Specifically, I wish I had researched more of the programs this university has to offer and explored subjects I was not already comfortable with. Had I done so, perhaps I would have felt more excited about my educational experience at this university. For example, had I known about it, I would have chosen to minor in international development and conflict management, something that would have enriched my education and expanded my academic horizons.
I don’t want to give the wrong impression — I certainly enjoy my fields of study. But in some ways, I think the choices I made have limited me, causing me to settle for a field of study that does not fully address my interests.
I enjoy being a government and politics major, but until quite recently, the department has neglected perspectives from places such as the developing world — meaning that my interest in the developing world has gone largely untouched in my study of political science.
And I suspect that I am not alone in this experience; many students have probably settled for a major or minor they weren’t completely passionate about because they were not aware of all their options.
We are quite fortunate we have passionate and capable faculty and students working in a wide variety of subjects at this university. However, unless you came here with a lot of extra credits or you plan on staying for a long time, you most likely do not have many electives to experiment with. And while CORE does offer some flexibility, it can be difficult to figure out what it is you are interested in.
By showcasing some of the possibilities that students have to choose from, the SGA is taking a positive step toward engaging students at the university. Helping students find the right program for their interests will create a more dynamic and intellectually diverse student body. So take advantage of opportunities like BYOBooks and don’t settle for something that you like — do something you love.
Rob Riker is a senior government and politics and history major. He can be reached at riker at umdbk dot com.