This blog idea sparked from a few interactions with other Schreyer Scholars who were cruel when it came to careers and majors outside of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). I have learned to let these interactions go straight over my head, but it is a bother to most liberal arts students. To be told every day that your degree serves no purpose to society leads people to turn away from pursuing degrees in which they are passionate about and focus on degree’s that society perceives as “successful.”
My roommate has come around to respect my work after explaining in full detail what my work consists of, and what my career will look like. So, with success with one person, I feel the need to advocate for understanding the benefits of studying liberal arts.
This weekend, I was hired as a photographer for Building Belonging with Schreyer Honors College. They mentioned topics that would make the community stronger in State College and the Penn State Campus. The leader of the event was trying to get one more student to step forward into the role of advocate leader, I stepped forward. I brought the topic, “Studying Liberal Arts is just as valid as obtaining a STEM degree.” It instantly grabbed the attention of the fifty people there, it was not the average topic being discussed at this event, such as, “encouraging students to study off campus” and “encouraging the use of public transportation.” The topic of the value of a Liberal Arts degree instantly sparks a feeling in people.
I was set at a table, and if people wanted to discuss my topic, they had to be the first out of four people to reach me. I was not expecting many people to come to me because Schreyer is majority STEM, and they typically have strong opinions on this argument. I sat down, and people were rushing to my table. It made me realize that people want to see change, and there can be a change if we work together.
So, I was approached by three distinct groups. A liberal arts and communications major group, a group of entrepreneurs in the community, and a group of STEM students. Each group devised a completely different plan to how we can make change and show respect to the field that is Liberal Arts.
Conversation flowed with the liberal arts group. My leadership style is typically to just be attentive within conversation. I grew a lot from this group, hearing different opinions based off different majors. Psychology responded with the approach that they will reach the same place in their career as people studying pre-med if they decide to go that direction. They mentioned that studying Psychology gives them a set of soft skills that they would not gain if they went in another direction to obtaining their undergraduate degree before medical school.
The one student was incredibly like me, studying public relations, and eager to see change. They were passionate about educating others on the career paths that most STEM people would dictate as unconventional. This pathway would mean that we would need to research how students enter their career field with an honors education. An honors education gives the ability to enter careers that have higher pay for liberal arts majors. Studies show that honors students make 10-15% more than the average student after graduation. Often liberal arts majors do not have high career output compared to STEM, but within the Schreyer community students will be yielding higher pay. However, Schreyer Honors Scholars can be the most brutal towards Liberal Arts majors because they do not understand why someone with so much potential would not go into the growing field of technology. With her story, she was driving the power to educate other students that we can make just as much money as STEM majors.
Entrepreneurs were surprised that there was disrespect towards students who study liberal arts, given the fact they had not been in college for quite a while. They wanted to remind us that your major does not dictate your life, careers change. Their focus on career change forced them to support liberal arts degrees because it forces others to think creatively and gain soft skills for any career.
STEM students had a different drive to the topic, after I informed them what the other groups produced, they created a plan to make change. They wanted to hear more about Scholar Thesis that are outside of STEM and about liberal arts research. They wanted to give peer educators the training to explain to the first years that every degree within Schreyer will yield success within the community. They wanted to advocate change through media as well. They were driven to see change, as they were curious about the different majors that exist within the Schreyer community.
I never expected this topic to hit so close to home, and I had no idea how I could advocate for real change. I am so happy that I decided to pursue this topic and make changes within the Schreyer community.
College grads expect $103,880 in first job, real salary is almost half (usatoday.com)
The Cost Benefits of Achieving Academic Honors in College (tlab-global.org)