Addy Pittenger, Arts & Life Editor Emeritus–
I love my major and the International Studies department, but as a senior on her way out into the (scary) real world, I’ve had some time to reflect on my academic career at Denison over the past years.
Denison tells students to explore a multitude of academic interests throughout their several years as a student. In fact, with the GE requirements, students are even forced to dip into departments they perhaps never thought to try. In my case, I came in as an International Studies major and an Environmental Studies minor, and I stuck with those departments all throughout my time here.
Yet, after a brief moment of self-reflection, I regret the fact that I only took classes in the frame of my degrees.
The International Studies major, like any major, requires students to take a number of required classes. As a result, I tried to get all of these requirements out of the way as soon as possible, believing that was the best way to handle my major while simultaneously trying to take all the required courses for the ENVS minor. On top of that, I made all of my concentration courses overlap with GE requirements.
That being said, with exception to the senior research class required for my international studies major, I essentially finished almost all of my major, minor, and GE requirements by my first semester junior year. But by reducing the liberty to explore other departments by trying to finish all requirements as soon as possible, I was not able to explore more courses in other departments I have grown to enjoy. Even though my last two semesters were filled by taking solely credit hours, it was too late, and with my unorthodox path towards graduation with an unplanned semester off, I was forced to only take classes that were available after the formal registration process.
the class seat limits by emailing professors, there was still the waitlist barrier to overcome too. So classes in departments such as the journalism department, the PPA department, and English department were full.
Over the years, I have come to love journalistic writing and storytelling, but I was never able to fully explore this interest in an academic setting. I thoroughly believed that even after finishing my major requirements, it would be best to have the scarce class selection be classes that are still related to my area of research.
Looking back, I admit I narrowed down my academic interests, so now I am in department classes that even though I enjoy, I regret not being able to explore other departments further.
This could arguably be the whole point of a liberal arts education. On one hand, to obtain knowledge and desire to explore different fields of academia is a rather useful and interdisciplinary skill, but on the other hand, it can leave students feeling ungrounded and unsure of their potential career paths.
As a closing remark, I urge students at Denison to, yes, decide on a major, but at the same time, to explore as many departments as they are able to within their first couple semesters as a freshman or sophomore. It provides a strong foundation for a liberal arts education, and presents a well-rounded applicant for future career opportunities. Take advantage of the numerous exciting classes offered at Denison, especially for GEs, for it would be a disservice not to explore your full potential as a college undergraduate.
Addy Pittenger ‘24 is an international studies major from Columbus, Ohio.