Some of us thought the day would never come. But, as sophomores, the fateful moment of choosing a major within Mendoza finally sprang upon us last week.
As I am sure was the case with many others, my roommates and I spent last week agonizing over the fact that a selection from an online dropdown box was going to decide the rest of our lives. For those of you in the same boat, you know exactly what I'm talking about. For those of you who are not, you are probably thinking "You're a business major, how stressful could your academic experience possibly be?"
But as it was, the questions swirling in our heads were endless. Do I want to be an accounting major and have nearly guaranteed job security? Do I want to be a finance major and enter an industry with almost unlimited earning potential? Do I want to be an IT management major and potentially work for some of the most exciting companies in the world? And the list went on.
Advice from teachers, classmates, upperclassmen, parents and advisors sometimes left us with even more questions than answers. It seemed like we were at a point in the road of life and we had to choose one of six pathways that would permanently impact our lives. Indeed, in some ways we were. The choice was laid out before us: accounting, finance, management consulting, management entrepreneurship, IT management or marketing. It was one of these labels that would lead us into six seemingly separate ways of life.
But, I still refuse to believe that last week I made one decision that would shape my entire life. When I chose "Management Entrepreneurship" from that fateful dropdown box, also with a second major in psychology, I do not believe that I labeled myself an entrepreneurial psychologist or a psychological entrepreneur. In the same way, I do not think anyone should label themselves an accountant, a sociologist, a mechanical engineer or a chemist. At this point in our lives, we are simply students, and that is a wonderful thing.
In the future, when our career paths are more defined, a label like that might be more appropriate. But even then, we will be so much more than our profession. We will be mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, friends and mentors. Hopefully, we will all be well-rounded individuals with a large body of knowledge and experience with which we can approach the world. It was for that reason that we came to this University: to receive the guidance necessary to be educated, wise, balanced people that would enter the world prepared for its challenges. We can trust in Our Lady and know that she's provided us with such.
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Contact Matthew Robison at mrobison@nd.edu
