Imagine this: a SEMO student is in the car, driving to Cape Girardeau for freshman orientation. Today, they will create a schedule corresponding with their major of choice, but unlike other students, they have no idea what their major is.

SEMO offers many courses catering to a variety of interests. Additionally, a general education major is offered, which exposes students to a diverse range of courses to give them a well-rounded education.

Coordinator of General Education Eric Sentell encourages students to explore their options as much as possible to find the best career fit to their interests.

“I encourage [students] to take courses in a variety of different subjects or disciplines that sound interesting to them, so that they can get some kind of familiarity with that and consider whether that might be something they want to continue studying,” Sentell said.

Freshman media management major Cierra Westhoff recently switched her major because of an interest she found in her general education courses.

After taking a few mass communication general education courses, Westhoff feels she has improved her knowledge, which helped her decide to change her major to media management.

“I’ve learned a lot, even just in Media in Society and Social Media Content Creation courses, like how to post, how to gain views and consistently posting to get the views you need. I think my degree will help me as I have already learned a lot and I am only a semester in.”

Human resources graduate student, Dawson Yates appreciates how the general education requirements helped him improve his writing skills, expand social interactions, and meet people he would have never interacted with while only taking courses within his major.

“I think general education classes are a great concept overall, but I wouldn’t have been opposed to a decrease in the amount of General Education classes required.” Yates said.

Forty-two credits of general education are required at SEMO. This provides an opportunity to expand students’ knowledge and interests. Instead of thinking of it as unnecessary work, students could use it as an opportunity to become a more well versed individual, which could help them find more variety and depth in future career paths.