a change of major: biology to journalism student

Thinking back to my freshman and sophomore year of college, I often ask myself how I got through each semester? You see, from the time I first saw Giuliana Rancic on E! News - I knew. Ever since I researched into Giuliana's career path and found out that Broadcast Journalism was actually a career and something you could major in at colleges, I knew that is what I wanted to do - or was it? It wasn't until my junior year of high school when my mind began to have a change of pace. I started working a hospital in my hometown just because my best friend starting working there. I had no intentions of actually going into the medical field, but I thought the the job would be interesting for the time being and I knew I'd get to work with all kinds of people - which I love to do. So, I thought I'd give it a try, make some money, and see where it went.

After my first shift at the hospital, I was incredibly intrigued. My mind was going in a thousand different directions thinking about how fascinating and amazing the medical field was. Shift-after-shift passed and I became so curious about everything within the medical field that I decided I wanted to be a doctor. By this time, I was in my senior year of high school and I had decided that I was going to major in Biology and pursue my new dream of becoming a doctor and help save peoples lives.

It wasn't even the part of saving lives that made me so intrigued (although it was a factor), it was the idea that I could help improve peoples lives and make them happy, healthy, and better again. There was nothing more heartwarming than walking into the hospital and seeing a patient improve each day. I loved seeing a patient go from not wanting me in their room to us becoming friends by the end of their stay. I realized I loved people and people actually really loved me.

My freshman year at SDSU started and I was taking 12 credits total. I wanted to start off with just enough to reach the full-time student limit, but my schedule seemed packed! I was taking general biology, general chemistry, an emergency medical technician course, more general chemistry, more biology (and not the fun kind, the kind where you learn about trees and photosynthesis - not my thing), in addition to all the labs that go with them. I was quickly bored of all these classes, but I've always been a dedicated student so I pushed through the semester with good grades. I thought, maybe these were just the annoying starter courses that everyone has to get through to become a doctor? Which was true, but I noticed that my roommate, who was also a Biology major, was loving most of what we were learning. This made me confused and I often still thought about Journalism and what my classes would be like if I was majoring in it at the time.

I was dreaming of Journalism so much at the time that I decided I should shadow at a local TV station to get clarity and just to feed my daydreaming. I scheduled a time to shadow a Journalist, Brheanna Berry, at KELOLAND TV in Sioux Falls, SD. When I got to the station, the manager told me Brhe and her videographer had already left to their scheduled shoot. When I finally arrived at their shoot and saw Brhe shooting her introduction for the story, I could feel my heart warming. I was looking at a person doing exactly what I dreamed of doing, and it was happening right in front of my eyes. After Brhe was done shooting, we drove back to the station and she talked to me a lot about Broadcast Journalism and the reality of it. She told me that Broadcast Journalism is not the full-time glamorous job that people think it is. She told me she does her own makeup, hair, and has to be at the station at 2 AM everyday! At a small station, this is what I expected to hear and I was glad that she took the time to talk about the reality of the career that no one talks about. What stood out to me the most was that she told me this is what she always dreamed of doing and she loves doing it, even despite the "unglamorous" parts of it all. This is what I wanted to hear.

I drove back to college that day endlessly thinking about all the things Brhe had told me and how conflicted I was. At this time, it was almost the end of my freshman year of college and I had worked so hard in all the classes that I truly didn't like. Was I ready to just put an end to my year of hard work and not have those classes count for anything?

That last month of freshman year challenged me in a lot of ways. To be honest, I was confused. I still really enjoyed working at the hospital and loved the patient care aspect of becoming a doctor, caring for people has always been a great love of mine, but I consistently thought about Journalism. The hard part was that I was doing good in all of my classes, I was striving. But I still didn't like them, and I knew it at the time. I wish looking back I would've listened to my internal thoughts and feelings. I knew something was not right, but I ignored it. I decided it was smarter of me to just push through my college career and stay a Biology degree. After all, I already have one year down, how much worse could second year be?

Before the second year of college began, I got to study abroad in Ghana and the Netherlands with the Biology and Microbiology Department. The trip was combined of various pre-professional health students and two faculty members. In Ghana, we shadowed physicians and explored the local hospital each day. Since we weren't allowed to help with any medical procedures or tasks, I mostly ended up talking with patients. I got to hear about their family, career, life, and overall reason they were in the hospital. Many of the patients sat outside in ninety-degree heat with no air conditioning waiting to see a doctor. A lot of the Ghanaian patients I talked to could barley afford to be at the doctor, but they knew they needed to be to survive. Many of the patients I saw that week were sick with Malaria. One patient had gradually lost her ability to speak in the last two months, but could not afford to get a CT scan of her brain, so there was nothing the doctors could do to help her. This woman was stuck not being able to speak because she could not afford to get answers. This was a hard moment for me, as one of my characteristics is to care for people, and there was nothing in that moment I could do for this woman, or at least financially. When she was crying I simply held her hand. She was trying to speak and even though I couldn't understand her, I know it meant a lot for her to just hold my hand and be heard. Before she left, we hugged and said goodbye. I realized that I was never going to see this woman again, but my heart wanted for her to be okay.

It was moments like with the woman who couldn't speak that made me realize I didn't want to medically care for these people, I wanted to listen to them and hear their story. Of course their diagnosis's were interesting, but I wanted to help them as a person and listen to them and share their story. This again, made me think about my future and what I wanted to do with my career.

I finished my sophomore year as a Biology major, still doing well. I took organic chemistry, genetics, microbiology, anatomy, physiology, more genetics, and more organic chemistry. But I was miserable. I was so glad that it was summer so I could get a break and get fresh clarity on my mind. I was also excited because I had the opportunity to travel to Haiti for a school build project in a few weeks. I was excited that I was going to get to experience a different culture without anything Biology related. It was just a trip where I got to help people and meet people - exactly what I love and desire to do.

Haiti was an incredible and life-changing experience for me. Aside from helping build a school (which we started building from the ground), we got to interact with local Haitians. Only a few Haitians could speak English, the rest spoke Creole. This made it a challenge to communicate with people because our main form of communication was body language and hand gestures. Even though it was challenging, I loved having to interact with people in another way besides language. By the end of our week there, I had made many Haitian friends and we became friends through smiles, gestures, and body language - an incredible experience and challenge. Haiti was exactly what I needed. It was the breath of fresh air I had been searching for. I loved waking up next to the ocean and seeing mountains, I loved interacting with people, and I loved experiencing a new culture once again. I was happy.

When we arrived back in the U.S. I worked through the summer at Starbucks. I tried to take my mind off school and just focus on interacting with friends, and like any college student, trying to make money. But when the time to school got closer and closer, I knew I really needed to think. I was signed up for Fall semester already. A full class schedule of Biology and more intensely focused areas of it. When I thought about this my mind literally went "ugh" inside! This is when I just decided to do it. I was going to change my major to Journalism and follow through with my dream. I contacted the School of Communication and Journalism and the department head actually met with me to help change my class schedule to fully Journalism classes. Even when I was talking to the department head, I knew I was making the right decision for myself and my happiness. After meeting with him I was signed up for all the things that excite me: video production, writing, and communication courses. I was excited and ready to finally start my dream that I had been longing for.

I still took physiology that first semester as a Journalism student to finish my Biology minor and physical assistant pre-requisites. I got through physiology but knew now from being enrolled in all my journalism classes that I didn't want anything else to do with it after I completed it. I was reassured from my first semester as a Journalism student that I was in the right place and I made the right decision. I was finally loving all the classes I had and was eager to truly learn about them - it was a feeling I had been missing with school that I now had.

I'm about to graduate with my Bachelors of Science in Journalism and I could not be more excited and sure of my future career. Yes, homework still has that same homework feeling, but I think is you're truly passionate about something it feels better to do. I actually really love all of my Journalism classes and the work that is involved within them. I've met great professors and advisors that know my story from Biology to Journalism that are encouraging about my decision. It might have taken me a few trips around the world to get the courage to change my major to what I've always thought and dreamed about, but I did it. My message to you is that if you're struggling on your choice of major or are still unsure, is that its okay. It is okay not to know right away. Deciding what to do with your future is a big decision, and one that is not easy.

Your change or clarity might happen without traveling across the globe, but however you decide, decide for yourself and decide with what is truly going to make you happy. I struggled making the change because I was doing really well with where I was at, but internally I wasn't. I think its important to listen to yourself internally and feel your emotions. If you are going to class unhappy and have no curiosity about your homework, then I would consider thinking more about where you're at and your major. Yes, of course, there will always be a few classes that any student dreads to attend, but if you aren't happy about going to any of them, then you might not be where you need to be. Although its scary to think about making a big change like changing your major, it's worth it to yourself. And, if you're happy with where you are at, then thats great too! You deserve to be doing something you love and are truly passionate about. But, my hope for you is that if you're having some of same thoughts I had when I was debating on making the change, sit down with your thoughts and think about what is best for you and your happiness. I hope you can find it like I found mine.

All the best,

Natalie