This is part of a series of columns written by Arts & Sciences Student Ambassadors.
Going into college, I believed I knew exactly what I wanted to study. I always loved learning about Earth science and felt inclined to pursue it, especially after my middle school science teacher furthered that curiosity and passion within me. So, it naturally made sense to apply to Cornell to major in that field.
Not only was I grateful for the opportunity to study a field I was greatly interested in, at a school I was so enamored by, but I was relieved to have figured out already what I wanted to do and have seemingly decided the entirety of my career trajectory. Even though, as an Arts & Sciences student, I didn’t have to declare my major until the spring semester of my second year, I felt as if I could finally address those nagging questions about my future and academic plans with a level of certainty that I was at least settled into a major in my first year of college.
Then, I began taking classes and found myself unfulfilled by the work that I was doing. Although my classes did address many of my academic yearnings, especially regarding the ever-growing impacts of climate change on the environment, I was also being introduced to a plethora of other fields as a result of the Arts & Sciences distribution requirements. I realized I wanted a more interdisciplinary, holistic and applicable approach to understanding the climate, the environment and how these factors affect people throughout the world. So, I settled on the environment & sustainability major.
Navigating this realization felt earth-shattering, especially as I was in the spring semester of my sophomore year. I felt as though my time was running out and that it wouldn’t be feasible for me to pivot to a whole new major. However, with the extensive help of the Arts & Sciences advising team and the incredible environment & sustainability department, I was able to switch my intended major right before I was meant to declare one.
Though the process of eventually declaring the major rightfully took some time, it was truly the most rewarding decision I ever made. Not only am I now studying what I have fallen in love with throughout college, but I was able to prove to myself that changing one’s major isn’t as impossible as it seems.
Tafannum is an environment & sustainability major in The College of Arts & Sciences.
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