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Here, I reflect on my role as a liberal arts graduate, a professional, and a citizen.

The liberal arts often get the reputation of being useless for a few different reasons. Many people think that being required to take classes outside your major is a waste of time. Some even go so far as to believe that liberal arts requirements are a scheme designed to make college institutions more money by extending the amount of time students are in school. On the other side of the argument, there are those that believe a rounded education is the key to all job and life opportunities, regardless of a person’s major. My beliefs lie somewhere in the middle—incorporating ideas along the entire spectrum to reflect on the value and meaning of my role as a liberal arts graduate, professional, and citizen. Within the context of moral judgement, there must be a careful balance between the weight given to intention versus result. Discourse surrounding the liberal arts is often polarized due to the discussion of fundamentally different talking points. Rather than debate the inclusion or implementation of the liberal arts in the American education system, I would like to discuss my personal experiences and subsequential value that I have found.

First, the definition of a liberal arts education that I will be referencing throughout this reflection: an education that encompasses a broad range of subjects intended to give students the ability to think critically and learn any subject. In addition to the ability to think and learn, I believe a liberal arts education also intends to encourage a passion for learning that goes beyond the classroom—one that goes farther than a grade on a test into an intrinsic desire for understanding. And through critical thinking, understanding of one subject is then transferrable to all other areas of life. For example, skills obtained while learning how to logic through a specific math problem can later be used to logic through a marketing project.

Despite going through my undergraduate years with the intention of going into a specific career, I believe that taking general education courses has been an integral part of my academic and professional development. Although classes like biology and chemistry have provided foundational knowledge for my future as well as critical thinking skills, the courses that I have found the most challenging each semester have been those outside my major. I believe this is because they required drastically different styles of writing, thinking, reading, and conversation. As a result, I have been able to expand existing skills in science to other disciplines. In other words, I became a highly adaptable learner capable of making creative connections between seemingly unrelated subjects.

Moving into my professional life, this will be especially useful because I plan on engaging in interdisciplinary research that will require I am able to effectively learn and connect material across specialties. Outside my professional and academic career, critical thinking is and will continue to be essential to my interpersonal relationships. Additionally, a passion for learning has supported my hobbies and other interests that improve my overall quality of life. Finding joy in the pursuit of knowledge means that I can find joy in anything because there is always something to be learned.