For my second alumni interview, I decided to interview someone who had direct experience and engagement with the construction of their own University Major as this was another aspect of my academic aspirations that I’ve yet to receive a lot of student feedback and advice. When I met with a career advisor at the Gordon Career Center, they so generously connected me with two individuals, a current senior who created her own major involving components that I’m really interested in as well like engineering and design, as well as a recent graduate of Wesleyan who graduated I believe as part of the Class of 2021. From the outside, the University Major honestly seems a little daunting and unapproachable and feels marketed a bit like a last resort if you can’t seem to decide what fits your needs within the predetermined tracks of other majors and minors. There’s not a whole lot of guidance in the process unless you actively seek it out, which I have and received some helpful feedback regarding the process, the complexities, and the logistics of it all.
Being able to talk to students not only about how they went about the logistical aspects of constructing their University Major made the process of even thinking of pursuing it much more approachable, as they are real-life examples of its success, it also allowed me to as questions and inquire about how a University Major served their needs and purpose. Being able to talk with people who have just recently finished or are finishing the path made it so they were able to give really directed feedback and curated advice.
Another question that I had going into the interview and into the process of the University Major as a whole was what a career looks like after completion of a University Major, which is often more tailored or specific than a Psychology, English, Biology, etc. major that has a fairly clear “next” step. One of my fears in the past has been about being passionate about studying something, but being unsure what that would look like in the more general workforce. I think it was helpful to know or be reassured that there’s no one right path or wrong path and that to be thinking that far into the future is really not beneficial due to all the moving pieces of what it means to make a living in today’s society.
This connects to my research of other alums in the fields I’m interested in going into which I was able to see what they majored in. While a lot of students graduated with Art Studio degrees, it was comforting to see a mix of other seemingly random or unrelated majors making it in the field as well as it relieves some of the pressure of getting it right and setting myself up for success.
Overall the interview allowed me to take a step back and take a deep breath. It reminded me of the importance of focusing on the here and now and pursuing whatever I want whether that be a University Major or not as I’ll always be able to find an alternate path or figure out a way to obtain my goals in the future as they’re bound to change.
