Freshman Innovation Group Blog: “What do you want to do?”
Follow along with this new FIG blog this semester to learn what life looks like for our amazing first generation College of Liberal Arts students!
The College of Liberal Arts welcomes and celebrates first-generation students—the pioneers who are the first in their family to earn an undergraduate degree at a university. Almost 30% of all liberal arts majors are first generation. The Freshman Innovation Group (FIG) is a college-specific program that provides incoming, first-generation freshmen a learning community involving a small network of faculty, advisors, and administrators in partnership with students.
This new FIG blog gives an inside glimpse of what the college experience is actually like for first generation students. Follow along this semester to learn what life looks like for our amazing first generation College of Liberal Arts students!
Daniela Guzman
Why Communication?
When applying at Texas A&M, the application asked what major I wanted to apply for. My mind went blank because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life yet. All I knew was that my favorite subject in high school was English, and that I loved to read and write. My high school advisor encouraged me to apply for the communication major because it is a broad major, and it deals with a lot of reading and writing; and boy, was she right. My major now speaks to me and leads me in the direction I know I am meant to follow.
Math and science were never really my strong suit, and I never really found it interesting. But with English, I always had the ability to get creative and let my mind run wild. Everyone always asks me, “What can you do with your major?” and honestly, I can do whatever my heart desires. I can work for healthcare, the business world, the media, you name it! Communication is an essential skill, and having a degree in it is something that employers seem to be intrigued in.
What I want to do with my major? Growing up, my school counselors helped me emotionally and educationally. Without them, I would be lost and most likely not in a top university like Texas A&M. They helped me through my rough times, and they always helped me find peace within myself. With my major, my dream is to attend grad school and get my masters in counseling. I know I am made to impact lives, and I know that many kids nowadays need someone to be there for them. All in all, if that doesn’t work out, communication is still a broad major, and wherever life takes me is where I know I will belong.
Olivia Peralez
Why Sociology?
Before coming to college I always knew I wanted to help people in some way, shape, or form. For weeks I was racking my brain with pros and cons of different majors that would benefit my dream of one day becoming a lawyer. After pages and pages of circle graphs, pie charts, and table charts, I finally came to a conclusion that if I want to help people, I need to be able to understand them.
After doing tons of research, I finally picked sociology as my best bet. The methods and concepts of sociology yield powerful insights into the social processes shaping lives, experiences, problems, and possibilities in the contemporary world. Sociologists understand social inequality, patterns of behavior, forces for social change and resistance, and the workings of social systems. Law is influenced by sociology, both directly and indirectly, and therefore the major is an exceptional addition to any application for law.
Coming into my freshman year I was unsure if I made the right choice. But after the first semester of taking a few classes towards my major, I knew it was for me. I took a class over the U.S. and Mexico border with Professor Goldsmith and loved it! After taking that class, I knew I wanted to pursue immigration law. The more classes I take, the more I know I made the right decision and couldn’t be happier. I encourage everyone to do their research, take a class or two of a major you are interested in, and keep your options open.