Career Exploration: It’s not just for college seniors

Thursday, March 15, 2007

By Jim Van Wingerden

I had a conversation with a parent this week who was concerned that her first-year student, though doing well in his studies, seemed to be “drifting” through the first year without a definite career path in sight.  As best she knew he had not yet selected a major or a program at Calvin.  “Should we be concerned?” Several times she had suggested that he visit the Career Development Office and talk with a career counselor, but fears that her nagging has had a reverse effect.

I assured this parent that many first-year (and 2nd and 3rd year) students and parents are having similar conversations, and she need not be overly concerned.  The Calvin curriculum, with its’ many core requirements, allows students to sample and browse many choices of majors and programs during the first couple of years at Calvin. In fact most first-year students arrive on campus undecided, and many of them who have a specific direction in mind end up choosing a different path. 

I like to think of these students more as “explorers” than “undecided.” Explorers are embraced at Calvin.  A liberal arts education is ideally suited for just such a student, providing a bountiful smorgasbord of choices and possibilities. 

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