Coming out of high school, I was clearly unsure of what I wanted my major to be in college. I mulled over the idea of marketing, sports marketing, business, and of course, communication.
During my time in high school, I took a few photo journalism classes as electives to help boost my knowledge in other areas than just the general education classes. I enjoyed going to photo journalism each day because of the hands-on class it was.
In most classes, you just sit at a desk for an hour and a half, listening to the teacher lecture. However, photo journalism was different. Each class, we would explore our campus, taking photos and gathering media we could use for the school yearbook.
Throughout the year, we would pull together the layout for the yearbook with all of our own pictures. Eventually, I took a leadership role within the class and helped spearhead the project my senior year.
Coming into Cabrini, I reflected on what I did well in high school and what I enjoyed doing. Photo journalism class popped into my mind immediately. So, I leaned toward making Digital Communication and Social Media as my selected major.
I took the general practicum classes, teaching me about communication as a whole, video production, social media, and more to get a solid knowledge base about my major.
But sophomore year when I took journalism with Dr. Zurek is when my major made its first significant impact on me. In journalism, you write for the school news organization, the Loquitur.
As a staff writer for the paper, you cover areas in news, lifestyles, perspectives, and sports. I gained a lot of interest in writing pieces for the school paper each week and really found my niche within the communication department. Eventually, I found my way to becoming the editor-in-chief of The Loquitur for my sophomore year.
So, my advice for any incoming college students is don’t stress about choosing a major. Think about what makes you happy, what you enjoy doing, and what you think you are good at. By taking these very important things into consideration, you’ll find exactly where you are meant to be in college.
To many people, making a college decision is a scary decision, and that's perfectly fine. But when it comes to choosing what you want to do at that college for four years, take into consideration what you are truly passionate about.
Don’t just wing it and major in something because you THINK you’ll be good at it. Major in something that you KNOW you’ll be good at. It should be something that you truly have a passion for, because if you do, then school won’t seem like school. You’ll enjoy going to classes, talking with professors, and yes, even sometimes enjoy doing your homework.
I can say with certainty during my junior year at Cabrini as a Digital Communication and Social Media major that I made the right decision.
