Rae Harris
Editor-in-Chief
I am leaving The College of Wooster with a boatload of debt, so much that it doesn’t even feel real. But I can honestly say that I don’t regret my decision to pursue a degree at a private liberal arts school.
When I first arrived at college, I had a very straightforward plan: major in neurobiology and meet my general education credits through classes I’d actually enjoy (namely through courses in or cross-listed with classical studies). By the end of sophomore year, I realized I already had a minor in classical studies but still had general ed credits to go. I was going to keep taking courses on Roman culture and the Latin language because I loved it just as much, if not more, than my biology classes. If I was going to keep taking CLST courses, then why not just slap on a second major?
It’s specifically because of a liberal arts environment that I was able to continue in two completely unrelated disciplines. Whenever I tell someone at the College I’m a neurobiology and classical studies double major, their eyes get big and they ask, “What are you going to do with that?”
That’s a great question and the answer is simple — basically nothing. What I am going to use, however, is the incredible experience of utilizing accessible language to explain neurobiology to non-scientists and to explain ancient philosophy and history to non-philosophers.
I firmly believe that if a person wishes to learn something, they should have the ability to do so without facing the impenetrable barrier of niche terminology. As such, I ultimately want to be a copy editor for a scientific publication in order to make the research more accessible to the general public. Will this be in neuroscience? I’m not sure, but it could be.
Attending The College of Wooster gave me the opportunity to explore my two biggest academic interests side-by-side. Without the support of faculty from both the neuroscience department and classical studies department (and philosophy too), I wouldn’t have been able to manage a schedule that still allowed me to excel in my courses and graduate on time with an I.S. that contains neurobiological and classical philosophy on sense perception.
Wooster has given me amazing, wide-reaching skills that will only bolster me wherever I end up. Yes, I’m leaving college with a lot of debt, but I’m also leaving with what I need to succeed and a great network of supporters. In a state school, I would have drowned in too many people and too-strict, linear pathways. But here at Wooster, I was able to make the education that I wanted.