Finding Their Path

Usually, your major is what defines your college experience. The first question on your college application is typically a dropdown menu asking for your intended major, that tiny click determining the major you stay with for your entire college career.

However, at Trinity University, your major isn’t what defines your college experience. Instead, Trinity students’ college experiences are defined by the journey of discovering their major. Students at Trinity don’t declare their major until the end of their second year, ensuring they have the time to decide what they want to learn here.

On February 20 at the Miller Fountain, Trinity students, faculty, and staff gathered to celebrate Major Declaration Day. This annual event invites newly declared students to showcase their commitment to their studies, passion for learning, and celebrate a major moment in their lives at Trinity and beyond.

As the loud music played from speakers around Miller Fountain, tables displayed stands representing the different departments and majors. Students received customized pennants for each major and discipline as a souvenir to mark the beginning of a new adventure and as a sign of the journey it took to reach this point.

“My journey wasn't actually super straightforward. I came in thinking I wanted to do bio, and then I took my first integrative class. I was like, I think chem might be my thing,” Deakon Shaffer ’28, a new chemistry major, states. “I really was able to sculpt my own path instead of doing what I thought I would do in high school.”

Deakon says that being able to take classes in numerous concentrations was incredibly important in helping him to discover what he wanted to study. Combined with Trinity’s various hands-on learning classes, he shaped his journey toward chemistry.

International studies and political science major J.C. Canlas ’27 agrees that being able to take classes in multiple disciplines helped her declare her major. “I came in not really knowing what I wanted to do. I was maybe thinking of doing English or psych, but taking a lot of different classes across different majors really allowed me to discover what I was passionate about.”

Faculty members attending the event also shared in the joy and excitement of Major Declaration Day, welcoming students to their booths, handing them pennants, and congratulating them on taking the next step in their college experience. They too emphasized the unique opportunity Trinity presents students to try different majors and disciplines.

“Almost half the students in my entry-level marketing class are not going to declare a business major and are taking it as part of the general curriculum,” says Business Administration Department Chair Charlene Davis, Ph.D. “That meant that our conversations were just a lot livelier. It wasn't just business or marketing-centric.”

The ability to bring these different perspectives to conversations is what makes the journey to discovering a major so important. Taking classes in different concentrations fosters more inclusive conversations and more diverse discussions. “I think that's really unique, and to me, that opportunity for students to do that early is classic liberal arts. Try everything,” Davis says.

After declaring, students will transition from working with an academic adviser to having a faculty adviser in their major department.

“Declaring opens up opportunities for students to work in a closer relationship with their chosen academic department and their new faculty adviser to look at various opportunities for research, upper division electives tailored to their specific interests and career goals, and internship opportunities,” says Assistant Director of Academic Advising Jennifer Reese, MBA.

This opportunity for students to work closely with faculty creates an intentional space to develop relationships that will last long after graduation.

These feelings of joy, relief, and festivity continued throughout the event, as students reminisced on the beginning of their journey, the classes they took, and the professors they met, taking selfies with friends and professors alike.  

While the journey is not over for these students, one major milestone has been completed. Now that Trinity students have found the area of study they are passionate about, they have the next two years to dive deep into their disciplines through research, study abroad, or internships.

They’ve discovered their major, and now they’ll continue to rediscover it as they find their place in their chosen fields.