These days, when people ask me what I plan to do with my major in English after graduation, I usually grin and say, “Whatever I want.” But it wasn’t always that way.
The truth is, when I chose English, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. All I knew is that for the next four years I wanted to do something I liked.
English always made sense to me—fitting words together, crafting cool sentences, cooking quirky poems, reading a sentence in a book and it feels like sheer gravy.
But at the start of my sophomore year, this thing that always made sense to me—English—stopped making so much sense to me. I found myself answering to people at parties who asked me flippantly, “What in the world are you going to do with an English degree?”
I found myself discouraged because I knew so many people whose majors matched job descriptions—mechanical engineers graduate and work in (you guessed it) mechanical engineering; finance majors graduate and work in (you guessed it) finance.
I was envious that it seemed others had a clear path. I felt lost.
Then one day I stumbled upon room 119 of O'Shaughnessy Hall where I met Jared Mrozinske, the Director of Beyond the Dome, the career development program for the College of Arts & Letters.
I think I almost cried after I first met with him because 1.) I’m a big crybaby and 2.) He was one of the first people at Notre Dame to tell me that not only was being in the College of Arts & Letters cool but it was advantageous for my future career.
He told me big shots at Google and McKinsey and Bain want people like me. They want students from Arts & Letters. They want English majors who nerd out on hyper specific sections of Brideshead Revisited because those English majors are great communicators; they want philosophy majors who know every intricate detail of every ethical theory because those philosophy majors are great thinkers.
These “big shots” want us because they value us. They believe in us because they’ve seen people like us run companies, move industries, create disruption.
I started getting involved with Beyond the Dome as a student board member at the beginning of my second semester sophomore year. I heard talks from top executives, creative directors, senior partners, and I started seeing the bigger picture.
Perhaps my path isn’t 1:1. Perhaps my path is 1:Infinity.
My path is one major, infinite possibilities.
Now, as a senior, I often reflect on those late nights cooking quirky poems in my dorm room, all the times I didn’t want to do that long reading for class and did it. I reflect on the most compelling in-class discussions, quotes from books I can tell you by heart. I reflect on what my Arts & Letters education has given me—an ability to think better, ideate, project manage, work collaboratively, analyze, and communicate.
I also reflect on what Beyond the Dome has given me—confidence, connections, tips, and a toolkit I can take into any job interview or cold email to a future employer.
I feel lucky. Because I chose the thing I liked. I chose English. And now those questions about my future aren’t so terrifying.
To prospective students and incoming students, I have one word of advice. Choose the thing you like, and don’t look back.