Choosing a major is not a life sentence

By Kayla Samek–College is when many young adults are forced to make the daunting decision of what they want to do for the rest of their lives. The choice, however, doesn’t need to be a life sentence.

Morningside College Freshman Allison Linafelter–who is undecided what her major will be–said:  “[ The decision] makes me feel absolutely terrified because I feel like one small decision I’m making as just a teenager/young adult determines the path the rest of my life will take. It is a main source of anxiety for me in college.”

However, people every where do not always go into the field of study as a career. In fact, many college professors do not hear the call of post-secondary education immediately after their own graduation–some do not hear the call for years. Some may have even studied a completely different field than they end up teaching. One such professor is Dr. Patrick Bass, chair of the History Department at Morningside College.

Dr. Bass developed an interest in the environment when he was young. In middle school, he decided he wanted to become a Nuclear Engineer. Prof. Bass pursued this dream at a college in California. However, as he learned more about the controversial nature of Nuclear Power with the “No Nukes” movement, he decided to focus on Mechanical Engineering, but found he was more interested in the applied mathematics than in “building the better bucket.”

In order to graduate, Dr. Bass was required to minor in a completely different field than his major and so went with history. ”Reluctantly–but I decided I would do history, because I decided it would be more fun to read history, ” said Dr. Bass.

After graduating with a degree in Applied Mathematics, Prof. Bass attended graduate school for a short time before deciding to start his career. He was hired at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a systems engineer, which combined his knowledge of applied mathematics and previous experience he had received working for Rockwell Space Division, helping design the Space Shuttle. Prof. Bass, while working the the Jet Propulsion Lab was contracted out to NASA to work on space probes and to the Department of Defense where he “did some stuff there…I can’t tell you [what]  or I’d have to kill you” said Dr. Bass, laughing.

In his spare time he pursued a degree in history, “I decided that was what I really wanted to do, after awhile, ” stated Dr. Bass.  After he was awarded a doctorate, Dr. Bass went from various colleges and universities. But he found that “I didn’t like teaching 300-350 student classrooms,” said Dr. Bass, and “teaching content which… wasn’t really my main interest.”

He originally came to Morningside College for personal reasons, after teaching some time at a small Liberal Arts college in Ohio. Dr. Bass came to Morningside in 1992, “and I’ve been here ever since.” Even though he had thought Engineering was going to make him happy, Dr. Bass found his true passion in History many years after he graduated college–which just goes to show that your life in college does not set your future in stone.

Morningside Junior Megan Bailey was an Political Science major, and is now an English major. She is comforted knowing that her professors did not always stick with their intended majors throughout their life: “makes me feel that even if I can’t get a job there’s still a chance to do  something with my life.” College professors teach many lessons, but perhaps one of the most important they can impart on their students other than their degree is not a life sentence.