By Grace Savinovich
My mother is a very pragmatic woman. She was an accountant for eleven years, a successful mother for twenty-one just about (my brother and I like to think so), and now works in information technology for a utility company. The Sacramento Municipality Utility District provides electricity to Sacramento County, California; and just like the company she works for, she offers this fierce jolt to drive those around them to be driven and ignite their kind of light in the world.
But here’s the thing about me and the mother I love so dearly, she speaks so fluently in a language that I don’t fully comprehend 102% of the time. She speaks in numbers. Which, looking at her background, makes sense. So, when she sends me emails with articles titled “The 10 Highest – And Lowest – Paying College Majors,” knowing that mine aren’t among the list she hopes, is something I have to rectify within myself and communicate with my mother. I’m being my best, and she sees that I’m driven; my best just articulates itself differently.
Spending a year-and-a-half of my Gonzaga career as an Undeclared major was a fun introduction come Orientation Weekend 2012 and beyond. I always noticed it seemed to make everybody feel more comfortable once I said it. Or nervous maybe. There was always a chuckle and eyes shifting downwards, because I decided to directly and officially associate myself with the unknown.
Being undecided is just the formal way of saying, “I don’t really know what I’m doing or want to do,” which believe it or not, is how everyone else feels around you. Officially. No matter how in-depth they speak about their 4-year-plan to you, it’s changing, and will continue to do so. This is where and when and how you get to start on your path of lifelong learning and reflect on your own accumulation of critical thought.
Be creative, be innovative, be influential. This is not something to be stressed about, just something to be honest with yourself about.
I’ve seen and heard of peers and faculty alike deviating from their own path, or steering it as the path forces its own turns. And the great thing about GU and the resources they offer, like Academic Advising and Assistance and direct access to my professors (both I met with frequently), is that they don’t put up giant dividers in the road that don’t allow you to swerve and take detours. You can change majors halfway through, or have multiple. You can even add a minor! Whatever drives you.
Picking a major isn’t about picking the best destination spot, but hoping you’ve packed the right GPS or map to navigate you there.
I’ve heard it said that “The Jesuits ruin you for life, in the best possible way,” and I’m starting to understand what that means. Now when I introduce myself to people it goes a little something like this:
“Hi my name is Grace Savinovich, I’m a senior at Gonzaga University and I’m double majoring in English Literature and Philosophy.”
And if they’re GU alums they are intrigued and understand why I’m choosing to be trained both in everything and in nothing. Or if I get the typical “Well, what do you plan on doing with that?” To which I promptly respond, “Be a well-rounded person and figure it out. You know there’s a stat that says people change careers every 11 years anyway these days? Might as well be taught to think and to write and be able to communicate knowledge, and be trained in the nitty-gritty when necessary.” And pragmatically speaking, that makes sense. Both to me and to mom.