Finding Your Major

Transcript

You all are gonna love this next segment, let’s meet Grace a junior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Grace is one of many UNI students who have benefited from an exploratory program that helps undecided majors find their just right academic path. Let’s hear more of the story from Grace.

Thanks Alex. Hi, everyone. When I started college, I thought that I had to have my whole life figured out before I ever got on campus and that in order to be successful, I had to have a major picked out and know exactly what I was going to do. So that’s what I did. My first year at UNI started, I pursuing a teaching degree. I enjoyed what I was learning about, but I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. My second year at UNI I started working in the Office of Academic Advising as a peer advisor. As part of our training we go through tools that advisors use with students who are in the exploratory program which is what we call students who are undecided on a major. That’s because we want them to be actively exploring different options for their future by trying different things. By the end of my training, I’d realized that I needed to try something different and decided to become an exploratory student myself to find my passion. At every step of the way, my advisor, Heather, helped me narrow down my interests and guide me towards finding a program that was right for me. By the end of my first semester as an exploratory student I had found my new major and now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I wish that I had known about the Exploratory program at the University of Northern Iowa before I ever got on campus, but I’m so glad that I found it and was able to take advantage of all that the program offers. It’s a really unique aspect to UNI and it’s such a great resource for students on campus. Back to you, Alex.

That is awesome, Grace. It’s great to hear how your advisor helped guide you into a recreation, tourism, and nonprofit leadership major. There are so many interesting fields of study at Northern Iowa, we’re glad you found the one that fits you so well. Thanks, Grace.