You Are Not Your Major

Written By Shahd Khawaja

Joining Purdue as a Liberal Arts student, I started off as a Communication major and ended up adding Political Science and a minor in French along the way. When asked what it was that I wanted to do with all of this, I had no answer. Coming from a family of engineers, doctors, and scientists, being a liberal arts student meant confusion. I wasn't studying premed to become a doctor, or engineering to become an engineer. My fields of study provided endless opportunity for those viewing it with an open mind, but ambiguity in the eyes of those who surrounded me.

I realized that our problem as Liberal Arts students is that we look at our majors the wrong way. We are put under pressure by those of different fields (not directly, but by ourselves when we compare ourselves to others) to see ourselves the way they see themselves, and we try to become something we’re not rather than be great at what we are. Entering Mass Communication, I thought this meant that I should only stick to career paths involving mass media, such as working for CNN the way engineers stick to engineering career paths. When I added Political Science, I told myself, “Well now you can work in either media related fields or politically oriented fields.” It finally hit me that my major wasn't preparing me for a type of job, it was giving me skills I could use anywhere.

I truly realized the extent of this when I got my first real job working for L'Oreal Middle East over the summer. They didn't ask me what I was studying in school so much as what it was I could do and how I did it. I was able to assure them that unhappy clients would not be an issue for me as I had been learning ways to communicate effectively and successfully from my communication major. When I received calls from French clients or received emails in French, it was a plus that I had been studying French in university, and being able to write in a professional manner and understand complex information was something I definitely gained from being a Political Science major, even if what I was reading had nothing to do with politics what so ever.

To make the most of your time in university, look at it as an opportunity to gain as many skills as you can. This does not in any way mean that you should solely study what major corporations want from them employees. You have to love what you learn in order to do great things with it. Just remember not to trap yourself in a box. A Liberal Arts student can truly do anything.