Category Archives: Megan

How I Picked My Major (And Got Excited About Thesis)

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I am a junior majoring in Gender and Women’s studies, but when I first came to Scripps, the GWS major was not even on my radar. Even during my first semester, when I was still extremely undecided, I had two new friend/mentors (both class of 2012 and no longer on campus) who told me that I should look into the GWS major because it seemed like a really good fit for me. I listened to their advice and that is a large part of what got me to where I am today, but not everyone has older friends who can advise them that way, and I certainly didn’t pick my major on their recommendations alone. I had a system. And so, I bring to you today my 5 steps to picking a major that will (most likely) be the right one for you.

  1. Make a list (written or mental) of departments and majors you think you are interested in.
  2. Add to that list any other major that others have suggested might be a good fit for you (these can be peers, mentors, family – but probably shouldn’t include that major that your parents or guardians wished you would do but honestly have no interest in.)
  3. Look at the department pages (found on the Scripps website under Academics -> Departments and Courses of Study, or click here) and actually read what the department has to say about itself. Their goals as a department might give you a new understanding of what the major is about.
  4. [THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP] Read through the major requirements and truly imagine yourself taking all of those classes. If a lot of them are electives (as in my GWS major), look at the kind of courses that can fulfill those and pick a few as if you were setting up your schedule. If half of the classes sound boring to you, it might not be the right major.
  5. If you’re still having trouble narrowing down the list, you could start playing around with combinations of dual or double majors, or majors and minors that would still enable you to study what you love. This is where those semester-by-semester plans are key. You might realize that you can only pull off the double major you want by starting the very next semester, or you might have a little more wiggle room.

Here is a key point to picking your major (at least with my method): if you think it is going to be boring or make you miserable, you should probably look for something else, because that disinterest is going to show in your work for your classes, and you are not going to want to do a thesis in that subject. While senior thesis can seem really far away and indistinct to a first year student, it doesn’t hurt to think ahead in a general sense. Senior thesis is going to be a lot of work, but it should to some degree, be something you’re excited about- I know I am! But that’s because I found a major that I really loved.

If you picked your major with a different method, tell me about it! Did you ever try something like this? And can someone please tell me that I am not the only person excited about doing thesis?

Reflections from a Second-Year Camp Counselor

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A Vespers sunset over China Lake

This last summer I worked, for the second year in a row, at the sleep-away Quaker camp in South China, Maine that I myself attended as a camper for three years in high school. It’s called Friends Camp, and I am not exaggerating when I say that this camp changes people’s lives. At camp we try to live by the Quaker values of SPICES: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship (which is sort of like the Quaker version of sustainability). Twice a day we spend fifteen to twenty minutes in silent reflection, the Quaker form of worship – morning meeting inside Aviary Hall, and vespers, where we sit on a hillside and watch the sunset over China Lake. Both of these periods end in hugs and handshakes between campers and counselors, kids running around to make sure they hug all of their friends – maybe giving an extra-tight squeeze to that one person from their cabin that they know has been a little homesick. I could go on writing about Friends Camp forever, but I’m pretty sure everyone else would get bored long before I would – it’s hard to stop talking about a place that you love so much. I think I get this way about my experience at Scripps sometimes too, so some of you probably understand this.

The daily schedule at camp! This does not accurately reflect the amount of work staff does.

Being a returning counselor, I already knew the rhythm of camp – the two-week sessions, daily jobs, morning and evening programs, how to supervise at waterfront. It was a definite advantage because it meant I could spend more time trying to come up with creative programs or electives, or fun things for my cabin to do, and less time making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything and was doing a good job. About three weeks into the summer I had a realization when I pulled up an old email. It was from an assessment activity that I had done with CP&R in the spring, where you take a deck of cards with things like “spirituality,” “personal safety,” and “diversity,” and sort them based on how important these different factors are to you in terms of your career/workplace environment. The email was from after I had done the activity, and included the list of my top ten, as follows:

  1. Excitement
  2. Spirituality
  3. Creativity
  4. Honesty and Integrity
  5. Influence People
  6. Fun and Humor
  7. Diversity
  8. Location
  9. Personal Safety
  10. Work-life Balance

Looking over the list, I was struck by just how many of them applied to my work at camp. It had never occurred to me that something like working at camp could actually be something that was so fulfilling to me because I had kind of fallen into it for lack of a better idea of what to do with my summer the year before. Somehow, without trying, I had ended up in a job that was nearly perfect for me, even if it wasn’t something I could do forever – or even year-round. Looking at that email was when I started to admit to myself that I very well might be coming back for a third year in the summer of 2013. I was a camper for three years – why not be a counselor for the same number of years? Next summer is a little far away, but I’m keeping an open mind. It’s hard for me to justify to myself why I would ever go somewhere else and risk it being far less fulfilling, but I know I can’t be a camp counselor forever.

What things have you done in the summer that you found particularly fulfilling? Or have you had a job or internship during the school year where you felt this way? I’d love to hear your stories!

“What’s Next?”: The Dreaded Question

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As many of us who have been graduated from high school or attended college for at least five minutes have experienced, adults all around us are constantly want to know “What’s next?” “Where are you headed from here?” The variations are countless, but the gist of it remains the same: “what’s next?” The question tends to produce a momentary panicked glance – perhaps at parents, if they’re not the ones asking, but most likely the glance is towards a peer, in hopes that they can help you deflect the asker to some other topic. For most of the last two years, I have laughed many nervous laughs and sent many panicked glances at friends and occasionally a parent as I get asked this question. My standard answer was something vague, or maybe an outright admission that I honestly had no clue. I didn’t know where I was headed- in my mind I’d just gotten somewhere new! Nonetheless people kept asking, and I kept avoiding complete answers.

Something funny happened this August, however, when my grandmother once more asked me what was next for me. For the first time in a good while, I actually had an answer for her. I told her that I would probably be looking for a master’s degree in gender and women’s studies (my current major), and would take it from there. I might start working for a non-profit, or I might decide I wanted to stay in academia, get a master’s in library science, and become an academic librarian. I was also planning on applying for a Fulbright during my senior year, I added, almost as an afterthought. Once I stopped talking I was caught up in a wave of shock – I had actually answered the dreaded question! I had never before been able to give someone an actual answer to that question, and suddenly I was able to give one without any hesitation. I hadn’t even mentioned all of my ideas – I might even consider getting a PhD and becoming a professor like my mother. Instead of feeling like I had no answer, I felt like I had a plethora. So as I sat on my couch later that day I stopped to think about how I’d been able to give her that answer. What had changed in the last six months?

Last spring I did a series of appointments with CP&R, talking about career ideas, doing a Myers-Briggs assessment, and exploring the possibility of alumnae contacts whom I could ask about their experiences. While I hadn’t thought of it as a life-changing decision at the time, it seemed that it had had more of an impact than I realized. I hadn’t gone to CP&R seeking solid answers, nor had I gotten any, but it seemed that just the act of talking about, and thinking about, what might come “next” had given me the ability to answer that dreaded question. But I’m curious- how have others been able to answer this question? Or maybe you’re one of the people still unable to answer it – what ways have you come up with to avoid specific answers? Do other people dread this question as much as I used to? Tell me I’m not alone!