Tag Archives: Majors

Finding A Way That Works For You

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Today I wanted to talk to you about how my activities on campus coincide with my major: legal studies. Arriving at the conclusion that I want to be a Legal Studies major has been a violently turbulent road. No, it do not just come to me. I’ve changed my mind probably around five times in the past two year. My point in telling you about my process is to assure you that whatever process you’re going through right now in deciding your major is ok. You’re going to find that something you’re passionate about no matter how many non-starters you encounter. All the different jobs you take on, no matter how strayed from your chosen major, will only lead you closer to what to you really want to do. I think something crucial to keep in mind is that how hard you work at Scripps (or any of the 5Cs) is probably a pretty good indicator as to the kind of work ethic you will carry with you through the rest of your career life.  So with this said, stay eager and curious my friends because you can go anywhere you want if you are hungry enough for the work.

When I was accepted Early Decision to NYU, I was thrilled to be part of the Global Liberal Studies or ‘GLS’ program.  I chose NYU because of the chance to expand my knowledge both inside the classroom, and through the resources of a great city.  While simultaneously having the chance to explore the city, and my place within it, I wanted to experience more diversity, which I did not have at my small, private high school; I was eager for something different and more outside my comfort zone. However, when I got to NYU, I quickly recognized that the GLS program was just too narrow for me.  There were only four majors options, and the closest fit to my interests in human rights and education was a concentration in global literature. Although I had brilliant professors and nothing but incredible academic experiences, I was seeking a more interdisciplinary course of study so I applied and was accepted to the Gallatin School where I had the freedom to “design my own major.”

 At Gallatin, I chose to concentrate my energies on the political sciences, journalism, and education. After taking one education course my first semester at Gallatin, I quickly realized education was not going to be for me. Truthfully, it was my experience working at the Santa Cecilia Orchestra day camp that had made me want to try out education. I loved my experience working with kids, and really imaged at one point, that I could do that for the rest of my life.

A little tangent about the Santa Cecilia Orchestra because I am very enthusiastic about their work: The summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I had the privilege of receiving the MUI (multicultural undergraduate internships) grant through the Getty Foundation to work as a visual arts teacher to kids ranging from 5-12 for 10 weeks at the Santa Cecilia camp. My job as an intern was to run a summer camp for the arts with only two other “interns” of my age. I assisted with violin, singing, journaling and a general arts & crafts classes. Between 9-5:30, everyday, the kids were under my co-worker(s) and my supervision. The woman who awarded me the Getty grant, Sonia León de Vega, was an incredible boss. Not only was Sonia one of the first Latin American women conductors in Los Angeles, but she also had the honor of performing at the Hollywood Bowl, and in front of the pope. In addition to all of this, she also runs this wonderful summer arts camp now in Eagle Rock right by her orchestra.

My second term at Gallatin was definitely a learning curve. In addition to taking a course in human rights, I also took: a course called “Crime in the USA” based on Michelle Alexander’s novel The New Jim Crow, a creative writing class that reviewed Baldwin and Virginia Woolf, and journalism with acclaimed NY Times best seller James McBride. I realized that semester that as eloquently as McBride’s spoke about journalism, the rigid stylistic writing form was just not for me. In contrast, in my creative writing class,  I could write all I wanted about my political views and thoughts on the times without having to think about word count restrictions. My creativity was at an all time high the second semester of my sophomore year, and I was eager to ride it.  This lead me to applying again for the MUI Getty Internship this past summer. After sending resumes and a cover letter to almost 16 different arts organizations around LA, I heard back from about half that amount. The organization I ended up working at, P.S. Arts, was my first choice.  Within a week, I heard back from them with the news that I would be there “Education and Media” Getty intern.

During those ten weeks, I was required to think more creatively than I have for any other job.  Inspired and privileged to be around such a hard working group of coworkers, I was humbled to be interning at P.S ARTS. From being able to collaborate on upcoming projects, to site visits to see the kids perform, (after having worked with the P.S ARTS teaching artists all year) I felt as though I could not have had a more well rounded internship experience. My internship was spent mainly working on projects for the programs department, who are in charge of overseeing P.S ARTS special events. One of my favorite projects that I had the chance to work on was the ‘Student Parent to-go.’ A ‘to-go’ is an easy to follow art project designed for kids who want to make arts and crafts at home.  I created five arts projects, but not before testing them out first. All of the supplies had to be able to be found at home. So as you can imagine, creating these “to-go’s” was no easy feat. Although, I had an enormous amount of support from the staff to guide me. The process requires researching artists, coming up with a skills based 6 step art project that is inspired by an artist, whose artwork must be appropriate enough for all age ranges . I would then present the project to the P.S. ARTS staff to see if it could work it for a potential Family Art Night. On this night, kids and their parents would come to the after school event to work on an art project together while simultaneously learning about a new artist from one of out teaching artists. We typically tried to pick artists who were underrepresented in the art world.  If you are interested in getting involved in this amazing arts organization that runs after school art programs at underprivileged public schools all throughout California PLEASE don’t hesitate to contact me: taronson4560@scrippscollege I would be more than happy to talk to you more about experience with the Getty Foundation, P.S Arts, or whatever it is– you name it!

 

 

 

 

 

That pretty much sums up everything  I’ve done these past two years. So as you can see, my passion for human rights has not limited me from pursuing my curiosity and love of the arts. My time at the Getty foundation taught me skills I will take with me through the rest of my life. How to be a good employee, as well as an active member of the community.. I also thought I would mention that the media portion of my summer internship introduced me to programs like Adobe InDesign, Premiere– skills employers are always on the lookout for, especially if your interested in any multimedia field!

If you understood nothing else from this, I hope you take away the following: wherever your “process” takes you, ride it, and try not to think so hard about what’s coming next. Anyway, that’s all for now folks. Until next week!

Xx,

Theri

 

Where am I going, where have I been?

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I grew up in an almost aggressively STEM biased town, a average sized midwestern city called Rochester in southeast Minnesota. STEM and Small Town, MN… hmm. Though it seems like an unlikely combination, Rochester is the home of the Mayo Clinic, a top-tier medical institution with a handful of major campuses around the US. Just a bit more background about home: it feels like almost everyone has a family member that works at the Clinic or IBM. For most of my life, I lived across the street from the emergency room (that turned out to be rather convenient when I broke my nose falling out of bed), and the sounds of the Mayo helicopter overhead is just ambient noise.

As a result of this, I felt that for the longest time I wanted to be a doctor. For a while, I wanted to be a pediatrician so that I could work with kids, possibly because I remember my little sister being in the hospital a few times. After a heath careers camp, I was sure I wanted to be a nurse anesthetist. This stem fixation lasted a while, likely through seventh grade. After that, maybe because my eighth grade science class wasn’t may favorite, I switched courses.

My next fixation was journalism. Not just journalism, but studying journalism at Mizzou (University of Missouri), a school well known for its media studies programs. I had done extensive research about the school’s admissions, the program, and student life. This shift came after Journalism Camp in Minneapolis, MN. There, I made a short film about the Minnesota education system with three other students.

But this wasn’t right either. After a while, I hit a period of uncertainty where I didn’t have any idea what I wanted. My ACT score report reaffirmed this, as I took the Interest Inventory piece that comes before the exam. It was indeed true that I did not have a “clear preference for working with people, ideas, data, or things.”

It was scary not being sure of what I wanted to do, especially since my peers seemed so sure that they would be pediatric oncologists or whatever else (What is a pediatric oncologist? I still don’t know).

After a bit of self-discovery, I realized that I really enjoyed my history and language classes. I knew I enjoyed talking and interacting with people, so diplomacy, political science, or international relations. This path lead me through the rest of my high school career.

Eventually, the time of year came where I had decided to go to Scripps. I cried with joy to realize that I was able to go, but I was also a liitle scared to be going into the “real world,” where I would need to start knowing where I wanted to go in life.

Over the summer, I began thinking about my intended path, and looked at what classes I wanted to take year one. Korean, Spanish, Core, Writing 50. That’s when I realized that it wasn’t the international relations piece I was interested as much as I liked the languages.

I knew Scripps had a foreign language major, but I wasn’t sure if it would be what I wanted. With a nervous heart, I clicked on the program on the majors list to see if the foreign languages major was what I hoped it was.

I was so glad that I had looked. It was all that I had dreamed what it would be, if not more.

Flash forward to now: week nine of my first semester in college. I’m taking the classes I had hoped, plus a ballroom dancing course. I plan on declaring my Foreign Languages: Two-Language Cultural Study of Spanish and Korean this week.

This definitely wasn’t a streamlined or organized process, but through all of this exploration  I’ve made it to a place where I think I’ll stay for a long time.

Majors, Careers, Trajectories

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I was recently speaking with a friend about majors and careers.  She was feeling a little down because she was worried that what she might end up doing won’t actually relate to her major.  She’s not sure that the typical path for her major is the one for her but at the same time she is not sure what she wants to do besides that.  Is the time that she is spending on this major going to be worth it?  After all, we’re spending quite a bit of money to be educated at Scripps.  No matter what kind of background you come from, there are still people back home that are counting on you to make the most of your time here.  People have hopes, dreams, and expectations for you.  And that can be a huge burden at times. 

When I first decided to be a Media Studies and Theater double major, I wondered if it would really be a good use of my time.  I didn’t know what I ultimately wanted to do after college.  I felt that I got a lot of strange looks from people for doing the “easy major”, and I wondered if I should have done something more intense like STEM or other social sciences.  Now people don’t question it as much because there is still a direct correlation to what I want to do after college.  I have come to terms and strongly believe that the arts isn’t necessarily easier, it just takes a different skill set.  And although the above is a gross oversimplification of the conversation I had with my friend it did make me think a lot about the pressures others put on us about majors and careers, but more importantly the pressures we put on ourselves. 

Because of my internship experiences this summer, I am extremely passionate about perusing a career in the arts and entertainment but it really made me remember that not everyone has found what they want their trajectory to be just yet.  And that’s ok.  Maybe it’s my mislaid optimism but for the sake of sanity I have to believe that every step on the journey is going to mean something.  You’re going to learn something from everything experience, good or bad.  Because even if you look back and maybe feel some time was “wasted” along the way, you might never have gotten to where you are now without that winding road.  Keep rocking, you’re awesome!

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“I’m bad at math,” and other lies I tell myself.

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This past week, I found out that I was offered a spot in an internship program that I applied for a few months ago. I am incredibly excited, but most of all I am so relieved that it worked out, and that I have one less thing to worry about.

This internship acceptance came at a good time, especially because these past few months have been filled with constant talk of internships, jobs, majors, study-abroad, housing, and all of the other long-term stuff that sends my mind into an anxious whirlwind. I have had many moments where I have felt like a “failure” for not securing an internship, and for not majoring in something “useful” or “lucrative.”

I recently declared a major in “Humanities: Interdisciplinary Studies in Culture,” and while I think it is a good fit for me, I often find myself wishing that I could have majored in something more “impressive,” like biochemistry or neuroscience. Nothing is stopping me from pursuing those majors, but they just don’t feel like majors that are right for me. In addition, for most of my life I have convinced myself that I am horrible at math and science, which rules out a lot of majors and minors. In hindsight, I think a lot of my hatred for these subjects stems (no pun intended) from some negative experiences I had with these subjects in elementary and middle school. I have told myself that I was bad at certain subjects for so long, that I eventually internalized it and began to hate them as well.

It also doesn’t help that I have a twin brother who is much more mathematically inclined. He is majoring in computer science, and I often find myself jealous of the fact that he is, in my opinion, pursuing such an impressive major.

I have done a lot of reflecting on my strengths and weaknesses this past semester, and I think I have become much more at-peace with the fact that I enjoy social sciences and humanities much more than I enjoy math or most forms of science. The thing is, we need all sorts of people in the world, and the fact that I am not going down a pre-med track does not make me any less valuable as a human, it just means I have different interests, strengths, and goals than some other people. Does the fact that I’m not majoring in a STEM field make me ‘less smart’ or ‘less hard-working?” Not really. Will people judge me for majoring in a kind of vague and potentially ‘less rigorous’ major? Probably. Does that matter? Not really.

And while I am still pretty convinced that I don’t have a mind that naturally “gets” math, I had a really positive experience with a science class last semester that pushed me outside of my academic comfort zone, and really caused me to rethink some of the lies and half-truths that I tell myself. I took a chemistry class called Land Air and Ocean Science to fulfill my natural science GE, and even though I was filled with trepidation (it had been quite a few years since I had taken a chemistry course,) I ended up LOVING the class. A large part of this was due to the fact that the professor understood that everyone in the class was taking it for their GE, and that many of us did not consider ourselves to be “sciency.” Thus, she tried really hard to make the material clear, engaging, and straightforward. Like I said, I have had some really negative experiences with math and science classes that left me feeling stupid and incompetent, so this class was such a breath of fresh air.

Overall, this class also helped me realize that it is not always helpful to narrowly categorize ourselves. As mentioned, my twin brother and I kind of grew up knowing that he was the “math-and-science-one,” and I was the “reading-writing-social-science-one.” We both placed ourselves in narrow categories that probably did us both a disservice through making us believe that we weren’t really capable of doing the things we were less talented at.

Me, when it comes to math.

Me, when it comes to math.

There have probably been a lot of things I have missed out on in life because I have convinced myself that I’m bad at it. I am now determined to stop categorizing myself in unhelpful ways, so that I will be more willing to go out of my comfort zone and try new things—even if I fail at first. Honestly, if I ended up loving a chemistry class—something I never thought was possible—then I can imagine there are so many other “lies” I tell myself that are probably not entirely valid. In the end, I have mostly come to terms with the fact that it’s okay for me not to love certain subjects, but I am also determined to challenge some of my internalized notions about what I “like” and “don’t” like, and I suggest that we all try this exercise out more often.

Major Major Stress

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So I’ve already mentioned once or twice (or a million times) that thinking about a major majorly freaks me out.

As I signed up for a Fall Break OTL trip to Joshua Tree, I figured the title of ‘JChillin’ would mean a nice break from campus and a respite from the constant questions about my future from various faraway friends and family members.

But I naively overlooked the fact that I was on a 48 hour camping trip with thirteen people I knew nothing about, and who knew nothing about me. And what better way to make small talk on a two hour drive or nine mile hike than to ask the innocuous, “What’s your major?” Even I fell into the trap a few times while trying to make conversation.

The question wasn’t too hard at first. I would mechanically reply, “I’m still undeclared, but probably English…?” and my hiking buddy would nod approvingly before moving on to the next segment of small talk.

I had almost made it to the clear, and could see myself simply spouting my stock reply forever–until the car ride home. Covered in dirt, three shades darker from the desert sun than I had been two days prior, dreaming of In-N-Out and on the verge of a nap, I heard the question I had been shirking one more time. Before I had time to think of a reply, “Oh, probably English but I’m technically undeclared” floated from my lips. I figured that would be enough to satisfy my backseat neighbor, and breathed a sigh of relief. Too soon.

Instead, I heard a follow up question that I had never even considered, “And what is your favorite period of literature to study?”

I was dumbfounded. If I could have dissolved into the drab upholstery of the CR-V’s backseat, I would have. I could barely stammer out a reply, but my mind was racing.

I don’t have a favorite period of literature? Do I need to have a favorite period of literature? What even are the periods of literature I could choose from? Does this mean I’m an uncultured swine? Should I pick a different major? Do I even know anything at all about English as a field of study?

As I tried to cover up my ignorance, I mumbled a half-coherent and half-relevant answer about my favorite author. My cheeks burned and I prayed we would reach Claremont before the seemingly harmless questions further shattered my confidence.

Thankfully, the conversation moved onto fast food, math geniuses, lobster dinners and sports, but the question was burned into my mind. As soon as I got back to campus, I frantically sent an email to my English professor to get a better understanding of what it means to be an English major. Hopefully I didn’t sound too desperate – and hopefully I won’t feel as mortified walking out of our meeting as I did during that car ride!