I never pictured myself at a liberal arts school.

I've known the career that I plan to pursue for as long as I can remember, and went through the college application process with this designated career plan in mind. I know what I want, I know what I have to do to get it and I won’t let anyone or anything or any curriculum get in my way.

Or so I thought.

I am currently enrolled in a liberal arts university - a Jesuit liberal arts university. So not only is my schedule blessed – no pun intended - with the inconvenience of two science classes, a fluency in a second language and a truckload of other seemingly irrelevant required courses, I’m also forced against my will to take courses in the painstakingly boring realms of Theology and Philosophy. A grand total of a dozen required courses that have absolutely no relevance to my actual course of study and no purpose other than to inconvenience my scheduling process come with the territory of getting an education at a Jesuit liberal arts university.

I never pictured myself at a liberal arts school.

But thank God I’m here.

After ample deliberation, I chose my college based on location, internship opportunities and the overall vibe of the campus. The liberal arts core was seen as nothing more and nothing less than a slight speed bump to my fast track degree in Communication and Media Studies, a sacrifice I was willing to make for the bounty of benefits my college had to offer. But with four semesters and three-quarters of the core under my belt, my disgruntled view of my liberal arts education has done a one-eighty, to one of appreciation and enjoyment, as I can honestly say that I wouldn’t trade my liberal arts education for the world.

Despite my unwavering devotion to the field of communications, I’m only 20 years old. I’ve been alive for only two decades and cognitively opinionated for less than that. Although I’ve loved the idea of advertising and PR for the past four years, that’s only a small fraction of what a lifelong career would be. At the ripe age of 20, it’s easy to be stubborn and self-assured; but the truth is, there will never be a more tumultuous time in your life, what with the “finding oneself” and “figuring out who you are” and other minuscule stresses of the common teenager. While I still hold a major in Communication and Media Studies, I’m growing increasingly open to other avenues and opportunities - opportunities rooted in, you guessed it, the liberal arts core.

Philosophy. Astronomy. Composition.

None of which have any direct relevance to my intended career path. But college is about more than building a resume and calculating a GPA; it's about growing as a person and finding yourself during such a pivotal point in life. My philosophy class has taught me how to question my intellect and think beyond the realms of a supposed truth. My astronomy class provided insight not only into the science behind our solar system's existence, but what it is that I'm looking at when I look up at the night sky. My composition class taught me how to properly express myself in a concise and fluent manner, an unparalleled life skill that I would not have had the opportunity to foster without my liberal arts education.

Of course a liberal arts education is tasking on both the GPA and the mental heath, as being forced into certain courses may not be an ideal situation for everyone, but after undergoing four semesters of the Fordham Liberal Arts Core, I can honestly say that not one of those classes had gone to waste.

By experiencing such a wide array of academic ventures and life experiences, I now consider myself a more cultured and well rounded person. I want to emphasize the fact that I'm taking myself out of the context of the class - not a well-rounded student, but a well-rounded person.

Because of this education, I can carry myself with more confidence and a higher respect, as everything from interview responses to bar conversations are sprinkled with facts from and allusions to information learned in my liberal arts classes, making for conversation that's slightly more colorful than catching up on the latest drama of reality TV stars.

Whether it's throwing in a relatable fact about New York architecture that I learned in my Urbanism class, or being able to better understand the current immigration crisis as discussed in my Church and Controversy class, the outcome of my liberal arts education bleeds off of the pages of my textbooks and seeps into my day to day conversations, until it ultimately becomes part of who I am. And before you know it, your well-rounded education translates into a well-rounded personality, and it can all be credited to the simple fact that your liberal arts education goes far beyond the campus.