Making the Most of It

As a student worker in the Career Center, part of my position is to promote Career Center events on campus. I realize as a busy student that there are simply not enough hours in the day to attend everything AND get your work done AND have a life. There are times where I think sleep is simply over-rated.

But attending the 'Alumni in the Spotlight: History Majors' panel shifted my perspective. No, I am not a history major and yes, I am incredibly glad I attended. My primary motivation was work related--I needed to cover this event for a newsletter. But as I sat in the back row, scribbling down pieces of advice and quotes, I realized that I was going to walk away with much more than a news story.

Here's my dilemma: I am a political science major and as of now, want nothing, to do with it post-graduation. I have no desire to go to law school, lobby or work on Capitol Hill. I love Washington D.C. for its culture, not its politics. And three of the four alumni on the panel have careers and lives that have little to do with their majors as well. (Enter a sigh of relief---there is hope for me after all).

Two of the alumni who I related to the most worked in higher education as a Program Manager for Drexel's MBA program and as the Executive Director of Marketing for Everyday Rachel Ray. Both were passionate about their major, the topics they learned and the skills they garnered from studying it. But at the same time, they were interested in other areas, like magazines, marketing and programming in higher education. The advice they offered and the lessons they learned were easily applicable to my life and job pursuit, yet I wasn't a history major. After speaking with both of them after the presentation, I received their contact information and the offer to pick their brain any time I wanted.

The thing to take away from all of this is that the programs offered through the Career Center, although appropriately labeled one thing, can be interesting and applicable to students in other majors. History and political science encourage and foster the same skill set---strong reading, writing and analytic skills, the ability to locate and predict patterns and the development of a global perspective. In fact, any liberal arts major will have these skills post-graduation. Panels like these show students how to hone in on their skills and pursue their passion and I believe that every Muhlenberg student, history major or not, should take advantage of these opportunities.

Who knows--you may just learn a thing--or pick up a business card--or two.