By KERRIGAN HUTTON
Tiger Media Network
Last Wednesday, students had the opportunity to attend the Major and Graduate Program Fair in the Memorial Union Ballroom. There were more than 50 booths set up for students to explore different academic opportunities.
Alongside the booths, there were also interactive stations for students to express their thoughts and feelings about declaring a major or their dream job. One station let students input how many times they’ve changed their major.
The event was hosted by the Academic Advising and Career Exploration Center whose main purpose is to provide students with support to achieve their academic goals as well as to provide resources for students.
Nikki Brown the assistant director of the Academic Advising and Career Exploration Center was one of the main organizers of this event. She said how necessary it is to have events like these.
“It’s important (for students) to start thinking and evaluating their educational plan,” she said. “The importance of students to recognize that life in general is a lot like picking your college major. Priorities change over time, life hands us different situations at times, and we have to learn how to manage those things and how to effectively make decisions”.
Graduate Programs were a large part of the event as the number of master’s degree recipients are on the rise. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, between 2010–11 and 2020–21, the total number of master’s degrees conferred increased by 19 percent, from 730,900 to 866,900 degrees. This matches up with the growing number of occupations requiring a master’s degree. The Bureau of Labor Statistics even expects masters-level occupations to grow by 17 percent by 2026.
When asked about the influx of master’s degrees, Assistant Professor of Geosciences, Keith Bremer said there are a couple of reasons people are coming back for their master’s.
“One is wanting to get ahead in their jobs,” Bremer said. “I also think there’s the group that wants to better themselves, wants to further their education, so they’re doing that through their master’s degrees.”
Freshman Mackenzy Tillitson said the fair is a little nerve-wracking, but despite the anxiety, she appreciates the close-knit culture Fort Hays offers.
“I like that there’s the people you see in classrooms will come and talk to you,” she said. “With it being a smaller school and smaller faculty I feel like I can get closer with them. Just makes me feel a lot more comfortable because I can go to a professor and tell them I don’t know what to do for graduate school and they’ll talk me through it.”
For students who are stressing about their future, Brown says to focus on purpose.
“Everything in the media says you have to know what you want to do and you have to finish it in this amount of time,” Brown said. “Where really the push in my opinion to make sure you are doing it with purpose.”
The Academic Advising and Career Exploration Center is located on the first floor of the Fischli-Wills Center for Student Success.