Reflections from a second semester senior

Hey, Hawk Hill, I’m Alli and as of last Tuesday, I am three days into being a second-semester senior.

This status, along with my newfound ability to see the other side of the blink-of-an-eye college experience they warn you about at orientation, has given me the tools to talk about what four years at Saint Joseph’s University’s Ervian K. Haub School of Business means. So, I’m going to start at the beginning.

I’ve spent the past four years studying marketing and leadership, ethics, and organizational sustainability (LEO). But coming to Saint Joseph’s with a major doesn’t mean that you’re spending all eight semesters taking classes that pertain to that major.

Looking back on the slew of requirements that have filled my semesters here, I am excited about what I’ve taken from my classes (some of my favorites don’t even lend themselves to the business curriculum), great mentorships I’ve gained from professors in other departments (Jason Mezey, Ph.D., associate professor of English, rocks), and friendships between two people with wildly different areas of study, but the same writing-intensive requirement.

So, if you’re a marketing major struggling in your accounting class, or you study risk management and insurance but cannot make sense of your organizational behavior textbook, or you’re undecided on your path of study, here’s what I’ve got for you:

If you’re struggling to balance an income statement in accounting, use your resources-SI sessions, office hours, classmates, tutoring in the Learning Resource Center-and study hard. And if you get a C? You worked hard for that grade and you can be proud of it. Though these classes may not be directly related to your career path, you’re coming out of the semester having more knowledge than you did before taking the class.

If you come to St. Joe’s as one major, but realize there could be a better fit elsewhere, don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith. Your parents won’t be as mad as you think and your adviser won’t be offended because you’re making this decision for you, and not anyone else. This is a great time to embrace your resources. I started as a food marketing major, added family business and entrepreneurship, (FB&E) then changed to traditional marketing dropping FB&E because I fell in love with the LEO department. You can trust in your intuition when you come across a class that ignites your passion and makes you excited to be present in your coursework.

You are assigned an adviser to talk to about the fact that you like the pharmaceutical marketing side of medicine more than the biology side. Spending time in my adviser’s office was one the best pieces of advice that I could’ve been given, even though Janée Burkhalter, Ph.D., associate professor in the Haub School of Business, and Ronald L. Dufresne, Ph.D., assistant professor of Management, are probably getting sick of me popping into their offices all the time.  Your adviser’s office can only provide you with more knowledge, insight, and options. Not only have my advisers become one of my greatest resources at this university, but they have become two of the best mentors I could ever have asked for. I know that those relationships are not something that will dissipate come graduation time. We’re here to learn and to think. As long as you’re thinking, you have nothing to sweat.

For those who are still undecided, not picking a major yet does not mean you’re confused, directionless, or that you’re destined to never find a career you love. It means you’re exploring options and opportunities, and the fit will find you, just like your decision to come to St. Joe’s did. Take advantage of the fact that you have a wide range of class requirements ahead of you, and explore the subjects that you connect with as you move forward.

Not only will you be happier, but you will contagiously spread the choice to choose passion-igniting learning to the people around you. The world, in my opinion, can never have too much of that.