Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2012
Podium Presentation
From the Yard to the Office: The Dilemmas College Students Face in
Transitioning from a Major in African American Studies toward the Professional
Career Arena
Kyle Brown
Faculty Mentor: Alphonso Simpson
African American Studies
Every college student can relate to the perplexing notion of having to choose a major in
college. We all have different ideas of the “best” or “top” majors and it usually involves
business, medicine, law, or education, but what if all majors could get combined into
one? We find ourselves asking the question, “Which major is best for me?” We are
incessantly “weighing” which majors will yield the best results for us in the long run. The
irony is that most graduates find employment in a field that doesn’t correlate to their
major. One of the myths behind choosing a major is that it locks you into a specific
career path, when in actuality; your college major is merely one of many factors that can
shape your career path. Many employers look for college graduates who have
demonstrated that they are proficient problem solvers, critical thinkers, and effective
communicators. These are all skills which a major in African American Studies can help
students develop. African American Studies offers a comprehensive education of the
world around us, past and present and how we can adapt toward being successful in it.
It is one of the most progressive areas of study in the college curriculum today and is
steadily producing the upper echelon of graduates. The problem is that African
American Studies does not have the large-scale representation that majors such as
Business Marketing have and something needs to be done about it.