The Big Change

The upperclassman I interviewed was Airel McCoy. She is a Jr here at Xavier, and her first major was Pre-Pharmacy and now she has changed it to Bio. Pre-Med. After I asked her what made her make the switch. She went on to say, She was locked in on becoming a Pre- Pharmacy major and taking up a Pharmacy profession one day. Then she quickly realized that the major she was so set in stone about wasn’t indeed for her. she started to see she wasn’t exceling in the Pre-Pharmacy department and had kind of a bad freshman year. She then sat down and thought long and hard about if Pre-Pharmacy was the right major for her because her grades were low and she wasn’t liking that .She then decided to try out Bio. Pre-Med ,which she really began to enjoy and quickly started to excel in. She said,”The only bad thing about the Transaction between the switch was that instead of me graduating 2016 it looks like it maybe 2017.”I then sat down and started to think about my major and how things would go later on in my future here at Xavier. I want to be in the Political Sci. department but I also love animals and want to become a vet, so if I decide to make a change in majors I would be to become a vet if Poly-Sci doesn’t work out for me.

The Same Boat…

It took me a bit of time to find someone but I finally found someone to interview. My interviewee is a senior by the name of Donye Coleman. She did not do a drastic major change, but she did change for specific reasons and i felt i learned a lot from her while interviewing her. Donye came here to Xavier as a Biology pre-med major but she soon switched to a general biology major. She said her classes did not change, but her pathway in life did, so that is why she changed her major. Donye made the decision to switch her major because she realized that she wasn’t taking full advantage of the help given here to pre- med students by skipping out on pre-med  meetings and not taking the extra steps to prepare for med school. Soon she realized that med school was not the route she wanted to take so she changed her major. Now she is doing great and is well on her way to getting a degree in general biology.

I really enjoyed interviewing Donye because i connected with her story. When i came here everyone around me was a biology pre-med major while I was only here for general biology. For the first few weeks of school I contemplated if i should add the pre-med to my major so that i could get the same treatment as the other pre-med students. Then, just as Donye did, I realized that I wouldn’t even go to many of the pre-med meetings. Then i thought further that Med-school isn’t the right path for me either, so i stuck with my general biology major and hoped it was right for me. Interviewing Donye made me realize that we are basically in the same boat, and i realized that there are more paths to choose from when being a biology major than med- school.

Upperclassman Review

Since coming to Xavier I have met plenty of people who wanted to change their major or already have. The upperclassman that I interviewed changed her major from biology pre-med to math pre-med. She did not wait till her sophomore year, like most people, to change her major; Olivia made the decision to switch halfway through her first semester as a freshman. She always knew that she was better at math than science, but thought that biology pre-med was the only way she could have the career she dreamed of. But once she met with her advisor and was told that she that she could have the same career as a math pre-med major, she was excited. The only thing that was hard for her was having to catch up on all the math that she missed her first semester. As soon as she was caught up, Olivia finally realized that she made the right decision changing her major and that this was the direction should have went in the beginning.

After interviewing Olivia I realized that there might be different ways to obtain the career that you want. I have thought about changing my major a coupe of times, and having the talk with Olivia really made me see the positive side of it. She made me realize that sometimes your career decisions will change and that’s okay. I’m a little hesitant to change my major, but knowing someone who has already done so and is on the path to the career of their dreams is a breath of fresh air. I might not change my major until my sophomore year,  and that’s only because I want to make sure that I’m making the change because it would be better for me and not because I’m tired of having a lot of work. But I know that no matter which major I may change to or if I choose stay in the major I started with, I will have the support of my family and everyone at Xavier.

The Big Switch

The upperclassman that I interviewed came to Xavier as a chemistry major. However she soon realized that was not the path that she truly desired to follow. She says, “I had to realize that everyone was not cut out for the pre-med life. In the classes, I learned that I really didn’t even enjoy chemistry or biology. I didn’t even really want to go to med school.” She wanted to continue a career in health though. She decided to change her major to public health because “it is a wider range of science.” She can still be in the medical field, but also have more leeway to do what she wants. She told me that college changes you and you change your life plans based on your transformations, but its okay. Finding yourself is what college is about.

In hearing her explanation of why she changed her major, I was reassured. At the moment, I am a pre-med major, and throughout the past weeks, I have wondered whether medicine is what I truly wish to do with my life. I have realized throughout my high school years that I am very good at talking to others, and I plan to take part in Xavier’s radio station. So, I have questioned whether my major should actually be communications, or perhaps I should stick with medicine and minor in communications somehow. I still have not answered that question, but for right now, I think that I still have time. I like that she did not just take into consideration the fact that her career path was changing, but that her life was changing. I think many people tend to forget that your career is a result of you. I thought that if I changed my major, I was changing who I am, but in actuality, the college experience is what will change you.

From Public Health to Chemistry

The upperclassman I interviewed was Andrea Briscoe. She is a sophomore, and her major was Public Health and now it is Chemistry Pre-Pharmacy. When deciding her major, Briscoe chose Public Health because she knew that she wanted to have a health profession career, but she didn’t think she would be able to excel in a dominant science major like Biology or Chemistry. During her freshman year, she took Chemistry and Biology. She thought that she was more interested in Biology than Chemistry. She also thought that she would excel greater in Biology. After the first semester she realized that she was wrong about herself. She had done better in Chemistry than any other subject she was taking, and she then despised biology.  Also, during her freshman year at Xavier she was in the Premedical program. As she was advised, Briscoe started a job shadowing at Ochsner Baptist Hospital with the nurses to get a feel of the atmosphere. She explained how the experience made her change her mind about having a career in health care.  So, after returning to Xavier for her second year she immediately changed her major to Chemistry and joined the Pre-Pharmacy track here. She made this decision because now she is sure she doesn’t want a health care career, but she enjoys chemistry. Another reason she decided upon pharmacy is that she is good at working with others to achieve a goal and solve a problem. Pharmacy will allow her to apply her teamwork and help people. After interviewing Briscoe, I began to think about my current major and career goal. I wonder will I have that moment where I decide maybe being a doctor or studying science isn’t right for me. I don’t think that this is going to happen, but if it does I hope it happens early on, so the transition will be smooth.

Upperclassman Review

I interviewed an upperclassman who began attending Xavier as a biology pre-med major.  He thought biology pre-med was his fit major because he did very well in science and math and it was also what interested him.  Later, he realized that he could not handle the intense work of biology.  He actually was not that good in biology as he thought he was.  He failed majority of his tests and quizzes and found himself failing terribly.  Of course Xavier sent him an email stating that he needs to change his major or drop one or two courses that he is failing, because it was effecting his GPA tremendously.  Second semester came around for him and he picked his grades up.  He felt as if he had to show Xavier that he was capable of being a biology pre-med major.  He was also caught up in the fact that he was attending a school of science, so he thought that he had to be like the majority, but was not really following his true desire.  Even though he managed to pick up his grades next semester, Xavier told him that he still had to change his major because they knew he was not passionate about it.  It  was no longer a choice and had become mandatory for a change.  He eventually decided to change his major to accounting/business because he knew that he was very good with numbers and it was something that he was definitely interested in.  He said he is definitely more passionate about business than he was about biology pre-med and he has actually come to love business. He is now going to be a graduate of Xavier University in the Spring of 2015 in accounting/business.  He also has many job offers and will start working as soon as he graduates.  This interview taught me something so simple.  That is, to go with your heart and your true desire,  If you ever feel like something is not the right fit for you, you should change it and many blessings will come your way and you will live a happy life.

Upperclassman Review

At first, I had a little trouble with finding an upperclassman that decided to change their major. I know a lot of people in my class who have decided right now that the bio-premed major is not for them, but finding an upperclassman was difficult. I ended up talking to a sophomore named Ashley Johnson who switched to being a math major. Ashley came to Xavier wanting to be a pharmacist (so a chem-prepharm major). She switched to a biology premed major because she felt it was a better fit for “what she wanted to do with her life”. She called her switch into the major as “struggleless (not a word, I know), and a really easy transition”

People who have the courage to switch majors really impress me. I don’t know why, but the thought of switching intimidates me. I think it is because we as students are forced to decide the careers that we want to go into when we are eighteen and nineteen years old. In my opinion, this is not very healthy. The reality of the situation is that when you switch majors, it seems like you are giving up. In Ashley’s case, things were a little different because she switched from a STEM major to another STEM major. Biology and chemistry are kind of similar, and I personally feel like the subjects are equally as challenging. I was sort of hoping to talk to someone who switched from a STEM major to a THE LAMP major to see how they felt about what people were saying to them and about them.

I have thought about switching majors a lot. I love political science and philosophy, but I have always been good at science. Science is fun and stimulating for me; I love doing research and have won science awards and research prizes. I feel that if I switch, that is me giving up on something that I have aspired towards and something that I have wanted for a really long time. Ashley decided to major in what she had the most fun doing and that she was best at. I do not know if I am brave enough to follow her lead and do what I want to do, but I definitely learned a lot from her experience and had fun talking to her.

Upperclassman Review

During a church service in the St. Michael’s Residence Hall, I had the honor of hearing a story from an upperclassman give his testimony on why switching his major was a blessing for him. He originally started out as a pre-med major, as he wanted to prove to a lot of people including an old teacher of his that he does have what it takes to be a doctor. The old teacher he mentioned was his main focus of why he started off as a pre-med major, as his old teacher said he could never be a doctor. When you hear someone tell you that you can never be something, sometimes it makes you want to pursue it just because. It was after his mid-term of his freshman year that he found out pre-med was not for him. His GPA was at a terrible low, in the 2.0 range, and the classes were really not his cup of tea. It was after he went on a campus ministry trip that he received guidance on his future career path. He began to learn that his career goals does not have to set on someone telling him what he can and can do. He learned that even if he was successful in the pre-med major, it still would not be his passion and he would have a career in something he would not truly enjoy. After receiving that wisdom, he changed his major to mathematics and soon began to see the changes. His GPA improved, he became part of activities on campus, and is ultimately striving as a result. What I learned from his experience is to continue going for my passion. Sometimes you will have family members kind of try to nudge you into a profession that isn’t your cup of tea, and as an art major I get it heavily. Instead of being tempted by everyone else’s views of what I should be doing, I will continue to pursue my growing passion in art and make the best out of my major.

The Financially Secure Path

Often times, students choose careers that they know will provide them with either stability or happiness. Sure, there are other reasons and paths but these two seem to be the dominant reasons for an average student when planning out their lives. Most transfer students will talk about how they came to realize that they would rather pursue a career that makes them happy then a career that leads to a lot of money. This is not the case for Nina, a first year pharmacy student.

She started hear a Xavier 4 years ago as a pre-medicine major because she wanted to be pathologist. She grew up with an interest in problem-solving and forensics so she felt that she would be happy doing something she loved. As her four years of undergraduate studies went by, she started to become doubtful of her path. She felt that school was endless and didn’t know if she could afford another seven or so years in college. Time was a big factor in Nina’s decision to switch her major to pre-pharmacy. She came to a point of self-realization where she knew that just because you find happiness in something doesn’t mean it is the best option. Although she loved the career, she knew that it would hinder her ability to truly progress with the other parts of her life such as getting married and starting a family early. She did not want to be held back because she still has to focus on school. She knew that choosing pharmacy was the better option in her case because she would only need to spend about three more years working hard in school and then she would be able to start her life.

Sometimes it’s just better overall to pick a route that benefits all of your goals instead of just the goal of being happy. Just because you pick something that provides more financial security then it does happiness does not mean you cannot enjoy it and redirect your source of happiness from other things.

Upperclassmen decisions

Obi Johnson is a current graduating senior who switched his major the 2^nd semester of his sophomore year. Coming into Xavier he was Chemistry Pre-Pharm major now he’s a Biology major. In his sophomore year he felt that chemistry wasn’t something he enjoyed doing. Obi stated the only reason he was in that major in the first place was because of what most Xavier parents do, “his mother was moving him towards that major.” It wasn’t the fact he wasn’t good in chemistry, he just realized he wasn’t fascinated by it enough to want to pursue a career in it. The motto is, “major in something you love to do, not something that will allow you to be miserable but rich.” One of his many regrets he said, “Was changing so late in the game. He’s in a constant game of catch up to graduate this year. From that summer of junior year he’s been taking 18 or more hours non-stop. He’s even used his summers to take courses just so he can be set. In the long room he said, “He’s happy he did it because he know he is satisfied with what he is going to be in the future.” Although his mom wanted him to become a Pharmacist, she understood that it wasn’t for him and he had other dreams and aspirations. So she encouraged him and pushed him in his new major.

I found his story very helpful, especially since I’ve been thinking about switching majors myself. I want to be a neonatal nurse, but the way Xavier is set up, there really isn’t a program for neonatal nursing, so I wouldn’t know what to switch to. One thing he told me was to make sure what I’m changing my major to is something I actually will love in the future and to do it in a timely manner or otherwise you’ll be playing catch up. One thing he said that really stood caught my attention was, “that’s how Xavier gets you, upfront everyone is Bio-Premed major or Chem-Pre-pharm major, but most of the students, usually upperclassmen end up changing their major because they realize that they’re not in the major they really want to pursue.”