By Jessica Pike, Staff Writer
If you’re not sure what major to choose, or you’ve joined a major that sounds good but you can’t choose a specific field of study, then don’t worry: you’re not alone. The Free Press will randomly choose a few students on a weekly basis to explain what their major, why they chose it and who they would recommend it to. Their experiences might help you decide what career path is best for you.
Riley Kirk
Major: Social Work
Kirk said that her major involves a lot of working with children, trying to help them and see progress with one on one interactions. She knew she wanted to work with children, but she didn’t want to be a teacher or school setting.
“I wanted to work more clinically, so I tried biology and athletic training my first semester, but I hated it. Social work was the next best thing, and I’ve stuck to it,” she said. Currently, Kirk is working for Core Health, trying to get her Behavioral Health Professional Certification to work with kids with disabilities.
Michaela Lawrence
Major: Nursing
“I chose the nursing major because it was a strong influence by my family,” said Lawrence, “but I also like to help others.”
While in high school, Lawrence spent time with her grandmother, helping to take care of her, which kickstarted her nursing major. She says working in her field is great for helping all kinds of people, and hopes to work in the emergency department or intensive care unit (ICU) once she graduates. Mostly though, Lawrence wants to work with veterans because she says they need just as much care as anyone else.
James Fagan
Major: Social Work
Fagan describes following the path of social work as full of variety, which can focus from food insecurity classes to ones more focused on social work skills themselves.
“In social work, it can range from working with individuals to working to create social welfare policies and laws,” Fagan said.
He decided on this major after attending the Upward Bound program at University of Maine Orono while in high school, when a mentor suggested it for him, and he decided it was alluring and worth pursuing as a career.