Ashanti Balch is one of many college students that change their majors during their college career to try and find the proper fit, pictured on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014.
Kaleb Schwaiger
Staff Writer
Sometimes a major seems enticing coming out of high school, but once the student gets involved in classes it seems rather dull. Other times, the major just doesn’t continue to pique their interest, and the students move on to look for greener pastures.
One such student is Kofi Bazzell, currently an English Lit major at Parkland. His goal is to transfer and get a degree in Linguistics, which is entirely different than his original plan of kinesiology. Bazzell is a student athlete, and when he first came to Parkland he wanted to know more about the body so he could further improve his athletic ability.
After a time, he realized that he could do this learning on his own, and that his talents lay elsewhere. His father is learning Chinese, so as a joke Bazzell took Japanese. He ended up enjoying the class so much that he decided to change majors.
He also took speech and English classes at Parkland to satisfy his general education requirements. Upon taking these classes, he learned he excelled at reading and writing. This, combined with his newfound love for learning languages, enticed him to begin a career in Linguistics.
Susanna Sanchez, currently a Liberal Arts major, is another student whose college path is full of twists and turns. Sanchez, 43, has had several different career options since graduating high school.
When she first graduated, her plan was to become a doctor. Since then, she has branched off into different types of management, from construction to hotel. She loves interacting with people, and realized that the cubicle life just wouldn’t be for her.
“You should change your major if you don’t like where it is turning out. Odds are you will end up in that field for the next fifty years, so make sure you love what you are going into! The saying ‘Do what you love, and the money will follow,’ is very applicable here,” Sanchez advised.
Sanchez also offered another piece of advice, “Get involved. Find activities to do. You never know what you might find; sometimes it could lead to the best things in your life.”
Sometimes, the fourth time is the charm. In the case of Psychology major Ashanti Balch, this statement is the truth. Balch said that his interests just kept changing from semester to semester. Each time he took a new general education class, something about it caught his eye.
Each class helped him find out something new about himself, and each one shaped his future choices a little bit more.
“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them,” Balch said, sharing a quote from Bruce Lee. Always take the change if you think you are on the wrong path. Take some time to think about it first, but if you are confident, make the change.”
If students ever have questions about their major, or they want to take a look at other options, they should visit the Counseling and Advising Center located in room U-267, or give the office a call at217-351-2219.
