With every seat filled and standing room only in the Forum, it would seem that at first glance, class must be in session at Moorpark College.
As the first of the five ‘Year of the Economy’ lectures set for this Spring, Moderator and anthropology professor Rachel Messinger, set the stage with questions that the students might like to know about when choosing a major.
A panel of five diverse participants, each of whom were formerly associated with Moorpark College, were brought together to discuss various college-to-career pathways. The Forum stage was simply set with five seats for the lecturers and a final seat for Messinger.
“How do you choose a major and does your major matter?” asked Messinger. “How do you find a major for the career you want?”
Each participant answered questions based on their own personal experience and perspective.
University of California: Los Angeles Major Gifts Officer and history major Nick Theodorou explained how his experience as a student athlete and a player in the minor leagues, led him to choose a career focused on helping other student athletes.
“Do something you enjoy,” said Theodorou. “Regardless of the degree, receiving it shows competency.”
Next to Theodorou sat Moorpark Alumni and photography major Becky Savell. Her experience as a photographer helped her to develop her people skills, which proved to aid her with her new career as a financial advisor.
Julia Strong, Wetland Biologist and business owner, sat in between and discussed beginning her college career at MC admitted to changing her major several times and her career choice even more. For her, the most important factor was getting her degree.
“Having a degree filters out people,” said Strong. “It tells whether or not you can get the task done.”
Next to Strong sat bio archaeology major and UCLA student, Amber Madrid. Contrarily to the other participants, she explained that her major choice was vital. This allowed her to obtain the experience necessary for a career in her field of interest.
Finally, there was philosophy major, Adam Blazej, who stressed the importance of picking a major that never made him bored. He started out as a business major but hated the thought of reading text after text that he was not fully interested in. He now works for a non-profit organization and continues his education reading texts that he enjoys.
Although it would be pleasant to say that students were waiting eagerly for the lecture to begin, most were not. The audience consisted mainly of students whose teachers either made it mandatory or extra credit to attend.
Sam Hucker, kinesiology major, attended the lecture because her professor made it mandatory.
“I think it was kind of pointless listening to people’s lives,” said Hucker. “Everyone’s lives end up differently.”
However, by the end of the hour-long lecture, many students kept the panel quite busy during the open question session.
The next lecture in the series is scheduled for Feb. 16, 12-12:50 in the TV studio located in communications building.
