The First Time I: Fell in love with my major

Many children fantasize about what job they will have when they grow up. It's fun to fantasize and play pretend, but in college, those dreams have the ability to become reality. Here and now, it's time to choose.

For some, the decision is daunting, "How can I decide what I want to do for the rest of my life if I don't even know what I'm having for dinner tonight?" There is a variety of factors that come into play: indecision, fear or lack of ability and support.

It is fortunate to have certainty, but it is passion that makes the difference. When you know what you love, and you love what you do, your major is a mission that you want to pursue.

Christa Bloxsom

WSU junior, Christa Bloxsom loves dancing and staying healthy. However, she spent years of her life bearing chronic pain from an old knee injury. Eventually, it became too painful for her to walk, much less continue dancing recreationally.

“I was just disappointed in my own body for not being able to control it,” said Bloxsom.

Bloxsom said she had always had an interest in healthy living and was originally a nutrition and food science major. However, as she prepared for major surgery over the summer, the emotional consequences of her experience coincided with her decision to switch her major to kinesiology.

“I knew it was going to hurt, but it was like the worst pain of my life,” said Bloxsom, “My surgery put me into a mental state that I could not have prepared myself for.”

Bloxsom could not move her leg for a month. As someone who has always stayed physically active, it was especially frustrating that she could not complete simple tasks for herself. There were times where Bloxsom would try to take a step and immediately topple to the ground.

“I lost a lot of muscle in my leg too, which I didn’t think about. I knew my knee would hurt, but my leg just wasn’t strong anymore,” said Bloxsom, “The medicine I was on, the pain I was in ... In my mind, I thought, 'I am never going to get better, why did I do this?'"

Bloxsom pushed herself to look at things positively and fight to get better. With encouragement from her mother and physical therapist, she was finally able to take her first independent steps. While considering kinesiology, Bloxsom often thinks about her experience during this time.

“My major is personal to me now. I have realized that the people who got me through my recovery are people who had at one point taken the classes I am in right now,” said Bloxsom.

Bloxsom has made great strides in her recovery and has even started to dance again. She plans to use her experiences to her advantage as she pursues kinesiology. Her ultimate desire is to work with people and help them achieve physical or rehabilitation goals.

“I believe that I will be able to relate to patients better, I have been in their shoes,” said Bloxsom. “I have cried at physical therapy before. Tears of pain and tears of joy. I am willing to be a patient’s shoulder to lean on through any hardships and achievements.”

Bloxsom’s past has inspired her to integrate her studies with her passions. The desire to help people heal and improve themselves physically drives her love for her major. “It is amazing how much a person’s body can change all because they put their mind to it,” she said.

Theresa Saporito

Theresa Saporito is a WSU graduate student majoring in communications sciences and disorders with the goal of becoming a speech pathologist.

Her mother introduced the prospect of speech pathology to her after attending a career fair. After further exploration, Saporito’s interest was sparked.

“I really like the study of speech and language. I think it’s very interesting how it’s always evolving,” said Saporito, “I like that as a speech pathologist, you are highly involved in cultural diversity, working with a wide range of clients who have different cultural backgrounds. Language is a big component of culture, which I really enjoy.”

Volunteering at clinics and observing speech pathologists over the summer has given Saporito the opportunity to become further immersed in what her future could be like as the result of her degree.

“I found myself really enjoying what they do, and enjoying being a part of it,” said Saporito.

Her favorite part of job-shadowing is working directly with clients and watching them grow as she helps monitor their progress. Saporito particularly relishes in her ability to interact with many different types of people.

“I can work with a lot of populations. In hospitals with older adults who may have suffered strokes and now have speech disabilities, or at schools with children who just make common articulation errors,” Saporito said.

Saporito eventually wants to see herself working at an urban hospital with adults with speech-inhibiting neurological disorders, stroke victims, and dementia patients.

“It’s important to communicate, and I feel like all of us take speech and the ability to speak for granted,” said Saporito, “I’m definitely making a difference when clients achieve speech abilities that they never acquired or that they’re restoring.”

Her graduate program includes two years including an externship, and she must pass an exam administered by the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) to receive her Certificate of Clinical Competence and become licensed. However, Saporito is adamant that her hard work will be worth it.

“You definitely have to put in a lot of studying and a lot of nights. But overall, because it’s something that I enjoy, I don’t mind it,” said Saporito, “Right now I’m in this class that actually allows me to work in the clinic with other grad students, so I feel like that’s really unique and special. It gives me more of an intimate experience … I really enjoy going to those classes.”

As she looks towards her future, Saporito is most excited about having her own clients with whom to work. She wants to have her own office space and the ability to work with people one-on-one.

“It’s very rewarding to know that the work that you’ve put in and the practice that you’ve done has helped them and has changed their entire way of communicating. It’s just a very rewarding feeling,” she said.

Branden Jarbo

When Branden Jarbo was a child, he would spend hours taking things apart and putting them back together. He went from playing around with mechanical pencils and dismantling his toys to discovering circuit boards.

“The way things work fascinates me,” said Jarbo. “I’ve always wanted to be an engineer. I was always playing and tinkering with stuff.”

Although he briefly explored architecture in high school, Jarbo has since then turned his love for mechanics into a career possibility and is currently a WSU junior majoring in electrical engineering.

When Jarbo received his first touch screen cell phone, an LG Dare, he had not anticipated what it would bring about. He was amazed by the technology. However, once he got a new phone, he couldn’t help but disassemble it and figure out exactly how it worked.

“It was just a square. It wasn’t like a smartphone. It was just a basic phone, it literally just had a home button. I thought it was amazing that we could text with our thumbs instead of a keypad. I thought it was awesome,” said Jarbo.

He now has a specific passion for cell phones and wants to work in the cell phone industry some day. While he’d like to spend time working in the field before he goes off on his own, Jarbo dreams of starting his own company. A cell phone design of his very own is currently in the works.

“My cell phone is slowly coming together, and it excites me. Just thinking about going home today and working on it. It gets me excited,” said Jarbo, “I’m definitely very passionate about becoming an engineer.”

Jarbo’s investment in his work is a supplement to his dedication. He believes that his classes are important and he doesn’t mind putting in the work and making sacrifices. Jarbo is extremely focused on doing whatever it takes to secure a good future for himself.

“I love going to classes because they actually mean something. To me, everything is about experience and learning. I like what I do, so I go to class interested,” said Jarbo.

Not once has Jarbo questioned his major. He can’t see himself doing anything else. His immense ambition and desire are evident.

“I have massive confidence. It’s not, ‘I hope I get this or I hope I have that…'”

Jarbo believes that you control your own situation, and nothing gets handed to you. He said that you have to work for what you want and if you want something bad enough, you’ll get it.

“I want to, I will, change the world with technology the way that Steve Jobs did with an iPhone and the way Bill Gates did with Windows. That’s my objective, that’s what it is to me, that’s what I want to do,” said Jarbo.

Contact Aleanna Siacon: 586-354-5040 or fv7748@wayne.edu. Follow her on Twitter: @ATerese11

http://www.thesouthend.wayne.edu/features/article_aec75a96-7ed8-11e5-a6c2-af2813d998d2.html