When I was an undergraduate student at a liberal arts college, one of my favorite professors said to me “Nobody is really looking for the liberal arts, but they are so glad when they find it.” What did she mean? In over 10 years of working with young adults and their parents, I have come to understand that when most students and families begin the college search, there is no real understanding of how all of the pieces of the college experience, including but not limited to the college major, work together to create well rounded and appreciative graduates who are actually very well prepared to begin their professional lives. In Major in Happiness, Dr. Michael Edmondson debunks some prevalent myths regarding majors, careers, and possibilities for the future. In doing so, he helps students and parents understand that college is the time to find the liminal or “in-between” spaces where students explore foundational questions about who they are, what they like and don’t like, and how that will use who they are to make an impact on the needs of their various communities.
Dr. Edmondson’s vision for navigating the chaos of the career search process is that each student would have the tools to understand and articulate to wide audiences that their time in college is not simply a separate time of life that is designed to prepare them for one, singular future path. Instead, Major in Happiness-presents a counter-narrative to the college major fallacy that helps students understand that their undergraduate experience is more like a pilgrimage that helps them prepare for the destination of life that will keep evolving. It is exciting for me to think about a new generation of college students who will not only imagine what is possible when they embrace who they are in the classroom, in a residence hall, on the athletic field, on the stage, in an office, or in another country but that they might also practice being themselves so that they might articulate their value to wide audiences. This is the foundation for a rewarding and gainful, and happy professional life.
I have spent all of my post-college years continuing to be grateful for “finding” the liberal arts experience. It is my great hope that Major in Happiness will help students to “find” their own happiness not only as a post-college reflection or appreciation, but as an active part of their college search and daily lives as undergraduate students.