How Gabrielle Avoided Switching Majors

GABRIELLE – Sophomore in College – Chemical Engineering Major

Situation:

Gabrielle struggled with wether she should continue in her major. The classes in Chemical Engineering were starting to get more difficult, and Gabrielle was having a hard time making the connection between what she was learning and if it was even relevant in the real world. She was losing excitement about her learning.

Discussion:

When talking about the things Gabrielle likes to do, she had a lot of typical things for a sophomore in college. She enjoyed hanging out with friends, working out, playing video games, food, watching movies, etc. As Gabrielle talked more deeply about each of these activities, food was a consistent topic that surfaced. She loved to cook and experiment with different recipes.

When her coach talked with Gabrielle’s mom about the consistency of how food worked its way into most conversations with Gabrielle. Her mom recalled that Gabrielle, even as a young girl, would pull products off the shelf at the grocery store and read the ingredients.

Ah ha! Moment:

Even as a young girl, Gabrielle was interested in what ingredients were in different foods.

Gabrielle and her coach talked about the correlation between food and Chemical Engineering. You could see light bulbs go off for Gabrielle especially when her coach asked her about her mom’s story of her as a young girl.

Action Items:

Gabrielle talked with her Chemical Engineering advisor and her favorite professor to better understand how Chemical Engineering is used to produce different foods. Now that she has made that correlation, the classes in this major became more meaningful for her and she is excited about continuing on with her current major.

Result:

Gabrielle has become reenergized about and will continue studying Chemical Engineering. She is making a point to talk with professors about how the curriculum relates to food production.

She is going to seek out an internship with a food manufacturing company to experience a real-world scenario to determine if this is the right career path. This will also help expose her to the many different roles she can consider in this field. Based on her findings, Gabrielle can continue to make adjustments to her career ideas.

A Glimpse into Gabrielle’s CliftonStrengths:

Input®: People high in Input have a craving to know more. Often, they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

For Gabrielle, digging deeper into data will help her understand how food has been developed in the past.

Maximizer®: People talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb

For Gabrielle, looking for ideas that show promise and improving on them will benefit her in this role.

When things go wrong:

What if Gabrielle had decided to change majors, without making this connection?

This is where people get overwhelmed. When students look at the list of majors randomly, it’s confusing. It is why so many students end up in Business, Communications and Psychology majors. They tend to be a catch all. The majors are great if they apply to an end result, but if they are just a way to get a degree, they may not be the right major. Students are just postponing making a decision on a career that will make them happy.

How would Gabrielle have decided on another major?

Many students base their decision based on the classes that interest them in that major. They miss out on the opportunity to apply their learning.  When students can attach what they are learning to something tangible (a career path or goal), it has more meaning, and the students can see progress as they move toward that goal.

Students who don’t have a career/goal are more prone to give up when school gets hard.

Parents Takeaway:

 When you see your child consistently get excited or keep going back to a certain subject, activity or experience, it is telling. Pay attention! Get curious and creative about what jobs are associated with the topic and help your ‘almost adult’ bridge the gap between what they like to do and what a job may look like around that topic.

Gabrielle participated in our Fast Track Program, a three-session one-on-one coaching program. We help you focus on getting to know and like who you are and how you are built so you can determine the best type of career that will suit you.

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