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IT'S OK NOT TO KNOW - THINKING BEYOND YOUR MAJOR
Entering college undeclared - or, let's be honest, entering junior year undeclared - can be stressful, but it is also an opportunity to find your calling. I hope to assure you, whether you're a current, undeclared, graduated, or otherwise questioning student, that your education will take you farther than what your major says, in so many ways.
I'm Alicia McCauley, an NMU Class of 2008 graduate turned Press Secretary at the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and this is my story on how my time at Northern helped shape my career path.
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Entering college undeclared - or, let's be honest, entering junior year undeclared - can be stressful, but it is also an opportunity to find your calling. I hope to assure you, whether you're a current, undeclared, graduated, or otherwise questioning student, that your education will take you farther than what your major says, in so many ways.
I'm Alicia McCauley, an NMU Class of 2008 graduate turned Press Secretary at the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and this is my story on how my time at Northern helped shape my career path.
Some students enter college knowing exactly what they want to do and enroll in a major that will train them in how to do it. Others, like me, dip their toes into a lot of different things and don't declare their majors until, say, the second semester of junior year. I graduated from Northern 13 years ago maxed out on credits and facing the Great Recession, unsure of where my place was in the big wide world. Just like with my major, I dipped my toes into several careers: politics, nonprofits, filmmaking, and advertising. Today, I am the Press Secretary at the New York City Commission on Human Rights, working with top national and international journalists to advance human rights for New Yorkers and beyond.
When I first matriculated to NMU, the pantheon of courses available to me was overwhelming – I wanted to take them all! I had option paralysis, and, having no idea what I wanted from life at the tender age of 18, choosing a major felt too constrictive for me. I joined NMU as a member of the Honors Program which provided me a light framework of courses I had to take to graduate with full honors, yet still allowed me to try out different areas of study. Keeping things general let me take courses in all sorts of fields that piqued my interest.
I learned that I loved learning, and ventured to learn as much as I could about everything I could, including Astronomy, Karate, Portuguese, Communications, Philosophy of Religion, and about 20 other very disparate courses. I studied abroad in Argentina. I presented undergraduate research at an international language conference. I joined a burlesque troupe. At one point I received a letter from the college asking me to please graduate, as I was nearing my maximum amount of credits.
Thankfully at that point, I assessed the whole of what I studied and found that I could, with a few final credits, leave NMU with a double major in International Studies and Spanish. One more course and I could have achieved a minor in Philosophy, but that would have required an additional semester (and would probably have made me insufferable at dinner parties). During the years I studied undeclared I learned that establishing relationships with your professors is key – whether looking for career guidance or finding unique opportunities at school – and to lean on those relationships for support as you experience self-discovery through learning. I am still in touch with many of my professors today and consider them trusted mentors.
Were it not for my complete unwillingness to choose a major before I was ready, I may not have had the opportunity to meet my incredible mentors, to study things that changed the way I perceived the world, or to uncover passions I didn’t know I had (looking at you Astronomy).
Unwittingly, or perhaps subconsciously, I take a similar approach to my career. My majors gave me a wide berth to try a lot of different career paths, each having its pros and cons, but each sharpening and strengthening another skill. Just like trying out different studies in school, I take the learnings from one industry and put them to use in another. My position in communications now has utilized experience from every past job I ever had.
The takeaway is that college is a time to figure out who you are, and how to be that person out in the world. Whether that means a nursing degree with a minor in hospitality management, or biology and theater double major, or a cybersecurity and literature degree, you have the rest of your life to determine how to shape your career. You will face external pressures to choose a major and a career from family, social groups, and others, but they don’t have to live your life, you do. Of course, there are very real economic factors to consider once you are on your own, but remaining open to opportunity and following your heart will lead you to your passions. That, above all, will help you find career success, and most importantly, peace of mind.
Some students enter college knowing exactly what they want to do and enroll in a major that will train them in how to do it. Others, like me, dip their toes into a lot of different things and don't declare their majors until, say, the second semester of junior year. I graduated from Northern 13 years ago maxed out on credits and facing the Great Recession, unsure of where my place was in the big wide world. Just like with my major, I dipped my toes into several careers: politics, nonprofits, filmmaking, and advertising. Today, I am the Press Secretary at the New York City Commission on Human Rights, working with top national and international journalists to advance human rights for New Yorkers and beyond.
When I first matriculated to NMU, the pantheon of courses available to me was overwhelming – I wanted to take them all! I had option paralysis, and, having no idea what I wanted from life at the tender age of 18, choosing a major felt too constrictive for me. I joined NMU as a member of the Honors Program which provided me a light framework of courses I had to take to graduate with full honors, yet still allowed me to try out different areas of study. Keeping things general let me take courses in all sorts of fields that piqued my interest.
I learned that I loved learning, and ventured to learn as much as I could about everything I could, including Astronomy, Karate, Portuguese, Communications, Philosophy of Religion, and about 20 other very disparate courses. I studied abroad in Argentina. I presented undergraduate research at an international language conference. I joined a burlesque troupe. At one point I received a letter from the college asking me to please graduate, as I was nearing my maximum amount of credits.
Thankfully at that point, I assessed the whole of what I studied and found that I could, with a few final credits, leave NMU with a double major in International Studies and Spanish. One more course and I could have achieved a minor in Philosophy, but that would have required an additional semester (and would probably have made me insufferable at dinner parties). During the years I studied undeclared I learned that establishing relationships with your professors is key – whether looking for career guidance or finding unique opportunities at school – and to lean on those relationships for support as you experience self-discovery through learning. I am still in touch with many of my professors today and consider them trusted mentors.
Were it not for my complete unwillingness to choose a major before I was ready, I may not have had the opportunity to meet my incredible mentors, to study things that changed the way I perceived the world, or to uncover passions I didn’t know I had (looking at you Astronomy).
Unwittingly, or perhaps subconsciously, I take a similar approach to my career. My majors gave me a wide berth to try a lot of different career paths, each having its pros and cons, but each sharpening and strengthening another skill. Just like trying out different studies in school, I take the learnings from one industry and put them to use in another. My position in communications now has utilized experience from every past job I ever had.
→ Takeaway
College is a time to figure out who you are, and how to be that person out in the world. Whether that means a nursing degree with a minor in hospitality management, or biology and theater double major, or a cybersecurity and literature degree, you have the rest of your life to determine how to shape your career. You will face external pressures to choose a major and a career from family, social groups, and others, but they don’t have to live your life, you do. Of course, there are very real economic factors to consider once you are on your own, but remaining open to opportunity and following your heart will lead you to your passions. That, above all, will help you find career success, and most importantly, peace of mind.
