At the beginning of my first semester I had the same challenges most new students in college have adapting. I wasn’t used to being around so many people all the time, and since I live in a quad on a very friendly floor, it was hard to focus at my own desk. To adjust to this I had to learn when the best time to study in the room was, whether it is in between classes when the hall was less noisy or after some of my roommates had gone to bed. Also, I started going to the library between classes to be more productive and started using the study rooms in my building. I think it’s a good idea for any student to learn of good study places around them that they can easily go to in order to be more productive- there are a lot of hidden gems in academic buildings. Going into my first semester, I was pretty close to completely undecided but now I at least have a path in mind. The lectures I attended were: Fisher College of Business, John Glenn College of Public Affairs and College of Social Work, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Education and Human Ecology. I picked the ones that sounded interesting to me and ones I could possibly see myself going into. I also tried to steer clear of the college of arts and sciences if possible because it would cause more hoops to jump through with my credits not all going towards my GE’s and luckily the college that peaked my interest most was outside of arts and sciences anyways. At the start of the semester I wanted to keep all my options open because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. After taking Anthropology, I learned I wasn’t a big fan of genetics and biology. That helped rule out the science field since I would have to like that type of mindset. Being able to rule that out helped me narrow my focus into what I think is the best fit- which is Public Affairs. I was in the intro class to public administration luckily or I would have never considered the college of public affairs. Being in that class showed there are a lot of different aspects in public affairs like sociology, psychology, economics, and law that all interest me. Especially because it is a good major that could help feed into Law School or if I didn’t want to pursue graduate school, there are other options like Ohio State’s masters program. It is a field that will help make me more aware of the problems that happen but also how I can address them which sets it apart from other fields. The survey class was nice to see other people in my spot and to see I wasn’t the only one not sure what I wanted to do. Also seeing how other people were taking steps to explore helped me find ways to. The lectures served as a good way for me to get more information about the majors rather than just their title and it helped hearing from people that have had experience with the particular majors. I think it would have been beneficial to have the speakers in recitation if possible just because it would be more one on one but I understand it would be more difficult that way. Also if scholarship opportunities would have been mentioned that would’ve been helpful too, or in that same way advice to get jobs on campus. Focusing on more than the academics could have helped in some areas. Before I declare, I need to decide if I want to do a BA or a BS and to do that I am taking the intro to policy analysis in the spring to see which aspect I like better, the policy or the administration. Also, I will look into minors to see if there is one I think will help round out the major. Overall, my goal is to create more of a plan on what I would want to do specifically with the major and the steps I would take after that. If I could talk to myself at the beginning semester I would remind myself I don’t need to have my whole life plan figured out, because I still don’t, but that it’s more important to work on finding a direction first and taking steps until you reach a full plan.

For this assignment, I interviewed Kristina Powers J.D., a public defender for Stark County in Canton, Ohio. I found her through a family connection and wanted to interview her because of her end goal, which was law school and working in the public sector. I started by asking her how she explored undergraduate majors and eventually settled on one. She majored in the history of political science. She had always known she wanted to be an attorney so she had the end goal of law school in mind, and that doesn’t require a certain undergraduate major, so she followed a passion. She loved history and continued to take classes with history professors she liked. She saw many similarities in history to the basis of today’s legal system. So by following a passion of hers and professors she liked, she found her major at Kent State. I then asked her what kinds of extracurricular activities she was a part of in college. She worked with the student grievance committee, student scholarship committee, and student services. She said she became a part of these to get her apart from other applicants to law school and give her a basis of working with many different kinds of people. When asked how easy it was to get a job after graduation, she said it was a nerve-wracking time but she was able to find one at a legal department within three months of graduation. The final question was about important skills and some of the challenging aspects of the job. Because she works for a multitude of different people, sometimes she doesn’t receive the respect she deserves, even though she’s the person trying to help, so keeping a level headed temper is important. Other important skills are patience, persistence, good communication, and the ability to take a step back and divorce yourself from the situation. Although being a public defender is not a great interest of mine, a lot of the things that go into it like public service, is, as well as the prospect of law school. The particular undergraduate major didn’t influence me at all but knowing how she got involved on her campus with things that helped her explore and set herself up for the career was a good thing to learn. But it did reinforce that there is no set path to Law School and just about any major can get you there, but you have to have opportunities that will set you apart from other applicants. To still explore Law School, I think I need to look into them more, I know Ohio State holds a fair for that. It would be more of research on my part to see if the extra time commitment would be worth it in the long run. Throughout the semester, exploration tools became more helpful when I was looking to schedule classes for spring semester. Using degree audit, schedule planner, and class searches I was able to find classes that will help me explore an area of interest with a schedule that would fit me best. All in all, it was helpful to talk to someone to learn that even once I pick an undergraduate major, if Law School is my next step, I will still have flexibility with my major and what to do with it.

Starting college is an adjustment for everyone but I think the biggest thing for me is not feeling like I can prove myself and stand out. I could make my mark in high school by doing well in a class or sharing thoughts in class but at such a big school like this it is harder to that. I am worried that by being surrounded by so many intellectuals I will find that I am not as up to par as I had thought I was. During discussions, I worry I will find myself not able to keep up because I haven’t thought of the topics as deeply or passionately as the other students. However, I am most excited about the independence I have with my schedule and the opportunities I have here. If I need to get out of the dorm and study I can easily walk to a library on campus and if I want to work out I can walk two minutes to the North Recreation Center or look at the schedule of classes that’s offered. I enjoy my alone time, which is challenged by close dorm quarters with others, but is helped with the ability to be so close to so many outlets. So the campus being so big is something that worries me but at the same time the community here is what I’m also excited about. From high school, challenging AP classes taught me how to work hard and use multiple resources to study and form study groups. Also, from playing a sport in high school I have learned how to manage my time with a full schedule and how to juggle multiple commitments. On campus, outside of the classroom, I plan on playing intramural tennis, joining Pets for Vets, and Refuge team which helps make higher education accessible to refugee high school students. I also want to participate in a lot of on campus activities and functions when I have time to do so. One thing that the panel said that resonated with me was in response to the question how do you respond to people asking you what your major is and their reaction to “undecided”. They say to not feel like you’re answering the question for the other person’s sake just like you aren’t picking the major for another person; you are doing it for yourself. They said to own the fact that you haven’t locked yourself into something yet. It is easy to make yourself think about what major your family would want you to do or think of what people expect you to chose and feel obligated to sway that way, and I am guilty of that more than I’d like to admit. It was good to hear that it isn’t a choice that needs to be rushed and that the focus is finding something that would make you happy for the rest of your life, not pleasing anyone else.

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