Why I Changed My College Major

I entered a global university studying the most global thing you could imagine: Global Liberal Studies. Between pandemic lockdowns cancelling my junior year in Spain, to finding my through line in another industry, this post breaks down my reasons for changing my major, and why you shouldn't hesitate if you feel strongly.

I didn't see a clear endgame

As fun as a potential life abroad helping bring about world peace sounded, I struggled to clearly define specific career paths I wanted to pursue besides become a diplomat or work for the United Nations (though the field trip I took there was life-changing).

As you're dreaming big and becoming inspired by the opportunities within the world of work, you have to make sure that outputs you're making at the end of each semester are making those dream more tangible, and bringing you steps closer to attaining them.

While I didn't find a clear career path in Global Liberal Studies, I did find a common thread within all my end-of-semester projects and internships. I realized it smack dab in the middle of my college experience.

I started to find my through line in another industry

Internship threads:

• Freshman year: Advocate for a truant teen involved in the criminal justice system (ROSE Program)
• Sophomore year: Education policy intern at a think tank (CATO Institute)

Classroom threads:

• In the class Global Topics: Sustainability I chose to write my final paper/ presentation on the segregation of Spain's school system
• In the class Politics of Public Policy I wrote my final memo recommending changes to the Every Student Succeeds Act that improve early educational outcomes for minority students
• In the class Truth, Fiction & the Media I wrote my final news article about how the outbreak of the pandemic had started to disturb the achievement gap

I dug through my old Google Drive folders prepping to write this blog, and I'd forgot about some of those projects!

If you notice a similar pattern in your own work, tug on that thread and see where it takes you. If not, think about just one theme of a project you enjoyed. Was it interesting enough that you wanted to keep learning more after the project was scored?

I dug back into childhood interests

I didn't realize it then, but growing up in San Francisco gave me an edge working in education.

Today's education technology giants were scrappy startups making me a better student from that infamous valley of innovation.

From cradle to career prep I've learned with it all, from Leapster cartridges and BrainPOP videos to Quizlet flashcards and Khan Academy lessons. (And loved it).

It wasn't until I was tutoring my brother through pandemic lockdowns when I realized that all the products I recommended he learn with, were some of my own greatest hits.

Realizing how deep that education connection was only motivated me more to stay the course.

I wanted to learn about the education industry off the clock

In the time between writing all those education-themed reports and officially changing my major, I became a voracious learner.

Months into the outbreak of COVID, I found myself using the summer months to teach myself some of the fundamentals of the education system.

I read books like  and

• The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World's Poorest People Are Educating Themselves by James Tooley
• A Dream Too Big: The Story of an Improbable Journey from Compton to Oxford by Caylin Louis Moore
• The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson
• The One World SchoolHouse: Education Reimagined by Sal Khan

I also took free Coursera courses like:

• Critical Issues in Urban Education by The University of Chicago
• Children's Human Rights by the University of Geneva.

If you're on a role busying yourself in this way—you're onto something.

Conclusion

You only get your undergraduate degree ONCE. Don't miss out on the learning of a lifetime if you're in a department you aren't fully sold on.