Meredith Stafford, staff writer
The week of Feb. 7, Berry plans to host a Major and Career Exploration Week for students. It will include events throughout the week where students can interact with staff members and gain insight into different majors on campus and possible future careers paths.
According to Anna Sharpe, associate dean for student success, each academic school will host a way for students to hear from faculty about different programs and what it’s like to be a part of that degree program. Students will also receive programming that will give them the tools to investigate their next steps beyond Berry. Sharpe said that this will include Odyssey Planning, which is a brainstorm about how you would like your life to look in the future, staff-guided planning sessions and panels of campus leaders from various areas, such as the Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) and the Chaplain’s Office.
“Very likely most students aren’t imagining a single path,” Sharpe said. “Some may; some students may know that they are headed to medical school after this and they have a really clear idea of what their path looks like going forward from there. But most students are imagining some sort of multiple futures.”
Sharpe is excited that Berry expanded this opportunity into a week-long experience from the one afternoon fair that it previously hosted. It aims to help students through their discernment process and give them low-stakes opportunities to ask questions and engage with faculty.
“I think our goal is really simple: to equip students with some good tools, to do some good soul searching and decision-making and to give students opportunities to interface with our amazing faculty all across the college,” Sharpe said.
The coordinators are working with the deans of the schools to determine the best way for students to interact with courses according to Sharpe and each school will have a way for students to engage, ranging from showcases to welcoming students into upper-level courses to observe. She encourages students to attend multiple events throughout the week.
“Go and really get a sampling from each of the schools,” Sharpe said. “It’s a really small commitment of time to gather a lot of helpful information as students are understanding their next steps.”
Similar to how other schools will be engaging with students, Dean of the Evans School of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences Gabriel Barreneche stated that Evans faculty will open up interesting upper-level courses for students to sit in on. Interested students will have the opportunity to learn what being a major in that field is like.
Barreneche hopes to expose students to different aspects of a major before they declare: curriculum and coursework, learning opportunities, the fields where alumni are working and graduate study opportunities.
“I hope that students will have their horizons opened up to majors they had not considered before,” Barreneche said. “I also hope that these events will allay their fears about declaring a major by giving them all of the information they need to make an informed decision.”
The Major and Career Exploration Week is hosted by the CPPD and the Academic Success Center, a partnership that Marc Hunsaker, dean of personal and professional development, is excited about. According to Hunsaker, the ultimate goal is student focused and a combination of major exploration and career exploration.
“The vision is to create a seamless environment, a seamless campus ecosystem that supports students in their academic, personal and professional development and so this partnership is an expression of that vision and that desire,” Hunsaker said.
The week will take into consideration that most students will not end up in a career that is directly related to their undergraduate degree, according to Hunsaker. There will be a panel of alumni and recruiters who will discuss nontraditional pathways to different careers to help students envision their future in a nonlinear way.
“Berry is very different in that way,” Hunsaker said. “I think it’s embedded in the mission and education of the head, heart and hands. That’s connected. That’s a connected, holistic education and so I think connecting the dots is part of the education we’re promising to students.”
Hunsaker’s goal for students is to help them move forward and plan their next steps, whether it’s providing them with ideas, honing down possibilities or expanding their horizons. Hunsaker said that he would be a part of a wayfinding panel that will show students how each part of the college experience can work together towards leading them forward.
“I hope that students leave with a feeling and understanding that you don’t have to have your future all figured out right now, because you can’t and that’s okay because we’re here to support you,” Hunsaker said. “We’re here to help you. We’re here to give you the tools and the mindsets that you’re going to need to find your way forward in a world that is constantly changing.”