{"id":220398,"date":"2023-03-23T09:43:05","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T13:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=220398"},"modified":"2023-03-28T09:32:27","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T13:32:27","slug":"choosing-a-major","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2023\/03\/23\/choosing-a-major\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose a Major: Advice from Academic Advisors and Peer Mentors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daniel Aguirre knows what it\u2019s like to start college without a clear path of study. A transfer student, he was thinking about communications, then changed to teaching. \u201cThere were so many things that I thought I wanted to do. At one point, I even thought I wanted to be a dancer,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n

This spring, as accepted students to Montclair State University make their college decisions, many transfer students as well as incoming first-year students, are grappling with the same issues that Aguirre sorted through.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t lie and say that it’s going to be easy,\u201d says Aguirre, a senior who eventually chose a path he loves, a new offering in the School of Communication and Media, Social Media and Public Relations<\/a>. \u201cIt is a journey and sometimes it takes some thinking about and evaluating what you really want to do. I advise students, \u2018Do what you love, not what other people want you to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Student
Students are encouraged to do their homework and use the resources on campus to help decide on their major, that includes the University\u2019s new micro-internship<\/a> opportunities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Choosing a major is among the most important decisions a college student will make, and Montclair has a large team of advisors and staff dedicated to helping them find the right fit. For the past five years, University College \u2013 the first and still the only program in New Jersey that supports undergraduates \u2013 has helped more than 3,100 students successfully declare their major.<\/p>\n

University College took over the gymnasium in the Student Recreation Center on March 21 with a special sports-theme event called \u201cMajor Madness,\u201d a full-court press to showcase Montclair\u2019s 300 different majors, minors, concentrations and certificate programs.<\/p>\n

The event is a catalyst for students to decide upon or declare a major, with 60-75% of University College major declarations each academic year occurring in the spring semester. A number of students took the opportunity to declare their majors to the cheers of University College staff dressed as basketball referees.<\/p>\n

\"College
Taking a page from the playbook of the NCAA Tournament\u2019s March Madness, Montclair\u2019s University College hosts Major Madness to help students explore all the different programs offered. Rocky and Sarah Agosta, a University College peer mentor, rouse the crowd inside the Student Recreation Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gio Carluccio, a freshman, was among the students who made their decision, choosing one of Montclair\u2019s newest majors, Recording Arts and Production<\/a> within the John J. Cali School of Music. \u201cIt feels so surreal to be choosing a major today,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to see what\u2019s in store.\u201d<\/p>\n

In declaring this field, Carluccio says he was following his heart as he enjoys creating music at home. It wasn\u2019t the path his parents initially encouraged him to follow, but he says they\u2019ve been supportive of his choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times students don’t realize that some of the extracurriculars they are involved in or are passionate about are things that could turn into careers and majors,\u201d says University College Academic Advisor Johayra \u201cJoy\u201d Granados-Rold\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

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Gio Carluccio, left, shows off his new College of the Arts T-shirt after declaring his major at the Major Madness event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Talking about those passions is the beginning of the process in helping students discover their path. \u201cWhen I meet with my students, I review with them things that they may not even realize that could potentially be a career,\u201d Granados-Rold\u00e1n says. That includes talking about the activities they enjoy and providing assessments that lead to tracks of study.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents are sometimes just aware of the options that are within their personal network,\u201d adds Academic Advisor Hope Kremer. \u201cThey know teaching is an option. They know business as an option. Maybe a parent is a police officer. They typically think of those things and they rarely think outside of the box just because they don’t know that those options exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

In talking with their students, the advisors ask them to share their life goals \u2013 and also their values. For Inioluwa Obafemi, a freshman who declared Medical Humanities <\/a>at the Major Madness event, that meant recognizing that his interest in science wasn\u2019t following a traditional path of working in labs or being a doctor. \u201cIn my own way I know I want to help people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Ang Figueroa, a senior, came to the same decision when she switched majors from Biology to Medical Humanities, a program she discovered at a University College \u201cCrash-a-Class\u201d event, which allows students to sit in on select courses to see what they\u2019re like. In Medical Humanities, Figueroa says, she discovered a field more aligned with her goals to increase the accessibility of health care.<\/p>\n

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Inioluwa Obafemi takes his best shot against Rocky at Major Madness. Obafemi also decided on a major during the event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA lot of students who come to us say, \u2018I really want to do X but my parents say I need to be a doctor or a nurse, an engineer or what have you, because their family equates certain occupations with success,\u201d Granados-Rold\u00e1n says.<\/p>\n

Aguirre, a Hispanic first-generation college student, understands that pressure. \u201cEven today, I’m still educating my parents about the world out there of social media and what public relations people do,\u201d he says. \u201cBut at the end of the day, it’s about educating your supporters and letting them know that you’re picking your major because that’s what you love to do. If it makes you happy, if it makes you feel good, that’s all that matters,\u201d Aguirre says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, at least to me that’s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Male
Daniel Aguirre followed a passion for content creation after transferring to Montclair and changing majors. He works at University College as a peer mentor and says exploration is key to the process. \u201cI know there\u2019s a stigma of changing majors, but it’s totally fine. It’s something that you’re going to realize when you get to college that it’s OK. It’s a learning process and you\u2019ll be defining yourself throughout your college career.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Story by Staff Writer Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/a>. Photos by John J. LaRosa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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