With Fall Preview Day coming up (This Sunday!!) and the ever impending deadline of University applications I’m sure that the question that many Grade 12’s are thinking is: What should I major in? I know that this is a big decision, so I wanted to give a little bit of advice, and of course fill you in on why I chose to take Psychology here at Brock.
First and foremost the reason I chose Brock was pretty simply. I came for a tour (Spring Preview Day, 2010) and I immediately fell in love with the campus. I felt like this was somewhere I could definitely see myself living for the next 4 years, and that was that. Although I did my dues and travelled to the other Universities on my list, they didn’t have the same feeling for me as Brock did. That being said, here’s my first piece of advice when you come to Brock this weekend – or any other school for that matter: Make sure that you feel like you’re at home. Make sure you feel comfortable and make sure that all the services that are important to you are available on campus – whatever those specifics may be. But most of all – when you find the right fit you’ll know.
Now, onto the good stuff! Short and sweet the main reason that I chose Psychology was
because it was what I wanted to do. I’ve always had a knack for figuring people out, a bit of a nosy side when it comes to knowing what people’s motivations are and a way of talking my friends way into just about anything – all things that relate to Psychology. So in short, when I knew that I wanted to go to University I knew that I wanted to learn more about Psychology because that’s what I love to learn. Surprisingly, that still holds true to this day. Here’s my second piece of advice : when you choose to go to post-secondary education, make sure that’s it’s for something you love. Are you like me and love to try to figure people out? Check out Psychology or Sociology! Like Math? Try Accounting, Mathematics, Economics! Do you love working out and learning about exercise? What about Kinesiology? It has been said that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life – so why can’t that be true about University too?
Finally, I don’t live in a dream world where the degree always gets you the job. And I know that there are reports that say this and that have no career options and that’s true to a certain extent – you never want to put yourself in a position where you have absolutely no options as far as careers….. BUT I think the thing that high-school students forget is that education while very important is not the only component that goes into getting a great job, or being successful for that matter. For example, I may be finishing up my Psychology degree this year, but I want to end up in a business role. So, I’ve done a few things while at school – I’ve worked jobs that give me office experience, I’ve taken on a minor in business to get an understanding of the industry, and I’ve networked with industry leaders (leading to a pretty sweet summer job this last year!). With that in mind – here’s my final piece of advice for this blog: Make sure that the degree that you want will take you where you want to go, and if it won’t make sure that you find a way to make it work for you. Whatever that means for your specific goals.
With all that in mind, I hope you all come and visit Brock this weekend – and if you’re stuck between a few programs come and talk to Faculty or students from that department to really get a feel for the program! They can’t help if you don’t ask!
Have a great week guys, see you this weekend!
