By Jenna Fitzgerald | Assistant News Editor
Ah, college. The phase of life where we all have a chance to explore our interests and figure out how we want to spend our futures. The four years my mother has always lovingly labeled “the selfish years.” The period of time when … STEM majors lock themselves in the Baylor Science Building?
I’m no Albert Einstein, but there seems to be a disconnect there.
It’s become woefully common for students to trap themselves in a box when it comes to what they’re studying. I’m afraid this rings even truer for STEM majors, and even truer still for pre-med students. As the youngest child in a family of medical professionals, I’ve seen it, and I know. They have their eye on the medical school prize, and nothing will distract their vision. They become like robots, mindlessly taking all the biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy and physiology classes the MCAT has prescribed for them. They often complain about it along the way too, because they say most of it has nothing to do with medicine anyways.
Honestly, perhaps they’re right. The United States is one of the only developed countries where a bachelor’s degree is required for admittance to medical school. In other parts of the world like Europe, aspiring doctors go straight from high school to medical school, with an extra year or two tacked on for education in the basic sciences. As much as I’m sure pre-med students have a bone to pick with the American system, there’s nothing they can do about it. They have to be here for four years, or however long it takes them to earn their bachelor’s degree. As long as they’re here, though, they may as well make the most of it.
So, I’m here — ready to serve as the poster child of “making the most of it.” I’m a University Scholars major with a secondary major in journalism and minors in political science and Spanish.
Every time someone asks me about my studies, their question is the same: How do all those pursuits fit together?
And my answer is simple: They don’t.
That’s what’s so beautiful about them. I’ve taken classes in social work, history and professional writing and rhetoric just because. I’ve completed a rigorous reading list of 24 ancient, medieval and modern texts — largely centered on religious and political philosophy — despite not being a big reader in the first place. I’ve gone outside the box when it comes to my course load, not basing every decision on a predetermined career plan, and I’m so much better for it.
Attending college is a privilege, and it’s time we take advantage of it. These four years should be filled not only with intellectual and professional development but also with genuine character formation, which is often found in the study of our history and the greatest works of our time. Am I ever going to use what I learned from Cicero’s “On the Republic” or St. Thomas Aquinas’ “On Being and Essence” in my graduate school program or in my future workplace? Probably not. But did those books contribute profoundly to my personal growth and my worldview? Absolutely.
Think about the opportunity that lies before you: the opportunity to experience a true liberal arts education. One day, years from now, you may be rounding in a hospital or working in a lab. Taking a few classes in the humanities isn’t going to prevent you from attaining that success. If anything, it will better you both personally and professionally. It will equip you with the tools to serve people in a holistic way. It will give you a strong intellectual, emotional and spiritual foundation for whatever career path you choose.
So, stop living in your future, and start living where you are right now. Break free from the BSB. Explore other buildings and the rich lessons they hold within their walls. Branch out. You may be surprised by the magic the humanities can offer you.
