Undecided? No problem! Coming into college not knowing what you want to do once you graduate does not mean that you will never know, it just means you’re not sure right now. Do not feel discouraged if you find yourself being a part of the Division of Undergraduate Studies or better known by students here at Penn State as DUS. According to dus.psu.edu, around 80% of students at Penn State feel some sort of uncertainty when it comes to picking a major, so you are in no way alone. In fact, there are a few perks of being part of DUS. For starters, you get to explore many different options, meaning a more diverse and interesting class load. My freshman year I took a wide range of classes ranging from chemistry to theatre. Being able to take different classes helps clarify what it is that interests you. In addition to a more diverse class load, the DUS advisors are some of the best on campus, and they should be because they know a little about all different majors rather than just one. Without hesitation, they are a good resource to use when learning about all the options you wish to pursue. Now that you know some of the perks of being a DUS student, I would like to share with you some stories of current seniors at Penn State and where DUS led them.
First, I would like to share with you my story. I started off at Penn State not knowing what I wanted to do post graduation. To be honest the thought of not being a student anymore and having to decide what it was that I wanted to do with the rest of my life scared me to death. I really thought I would never figure out what I desired my future career to be. My freshman year I was taking classes that would relate to a science degree and classes that would relate to a communications degree so you can see I really had a wide range of interests that I wanted to explore. My second semester freshman year I took biology and chemistry and I really struggled to engage myself in the information. That made me realize that maybe being a science major wasn’t for me. This revelation led me to sign up for a few extra communications classes sophomore year. Even at that point, I still was not 100% sure what area within communications I would like to explore. One day, though, while sitting in Comm 118 (Intro to Media Effects), it dawned on me, this was what I wanted to do. It really can just take one class that sparks a passion inside. Today, I am a senior media studies major with an effects option (meaning I focus on how the media effects individuals) and am looking to hopefully pursue a career in the field of social media.
Another success story belongs to Jesse Carnegie. Jesse started Penn State in DUS, like many of you will also do. He came in with an interest in obtaining an engineering degree until he started attending some business classes. Since he was in DUS he decided that it was worth testing the waters with some classes in Supply Chain. He soon realized that this major was everything he wanted to do and decided to apply to Smeal College of Business after his sophomore year. Now, Jesse is a few months away from graduation with a full time accepted job offer to in his area of study.
Finally, two more people who found their way through DUS were Maggie Adams and Becky Frank. Maggie started off in DUS, like many of you, not knowing what she wanted to do. Now she is an education major and just finished up her student teaching. She is hopeful about finding a full time teaching job after graduation in May. Becky’s story was slightly different. She always thought she was going to be a doctor but after completing some of the introductory courses she decided being a doctor was a little too overwhelming. She decided to go to her DUS advisor and together they decided that she should try speech pathology. Now Becky is waiting to hear back from graduate schools and hopes to pursue her masters in that field.
As you can see, there are plenty of people who started Penn State undecided but found their way through attending different classes and working with the many wonderful DUS advisors. With that being said, the wonderful world of DUS is a very exciting place to be.
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