The Meet Your Majors Fair continues to provide students, decided on a major or not, with a chance to maximize their Pierce College experience with knowledge of many programs and majors available to them on campus.
Students attended the Meet Your Major Fair where they were able to talk to faculty members, counselors and representatives from dozens of departments available to students at Pierce inside the Great Hall Thursday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Margarita Pillado, adjunct spanish professor and representative of the modern languages department, was one of the many teachers responding to students and taking part in the fair. Pillado spoke on the beneficial aspects of having faculty members from every department readily available in one room.
“Students who are already deciding on a major could discover that they can create synergies with different departments,” Pillado said.
Many of the departments brought props or visual aids as a way to provide students with a tangible look at the area of study and what it has to offer.
Chairman of the Physics Department Dale Fields had a globe displayed with specific coordinates surrounding it. He spoke on how new information can inspire students to take up a career path they weren’t expecting.
“I think it gives us an opportunity to talk to people who maybe don’t know yet as to what they are going to do and to get people to think ‘I didn’t even know this was a possibility.’ Just give people more information so they can make the best choices,” Fields said.
As a representative of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program, Fields believes that Pierce has one of the better STEM programs found in the valley.
“I think Pierce offers the best STEM education of any school in the area. It surpasses any other programs in the community college system. I’m really proud to come in and work here,” Fields said.
Students who have a general idea of what major they would like to pursue can benefit from attending events like this in order to gain a more in depth knowledge of the field itself.
Chet Senarathme knows he is interested in the STEM program but isn’t quite sure as to what facet specifically. Senarathme spoke with Fields on the science program. He learned a great deal from Fields on what he can do with a STEM degree and now has an idea of what he wants to do in his future.
“My interest was STEM from the start. But I didn’t know whether I’d go into medical or engineering. But after talking with him (Dale Fields) he showed me that chemistry is a big part of STEM and I enjoy chemistry. So if I can go into Med School with chemistry, I definitely would,” Senarathme said.
Fields said he hopes students benefit from all that Pierce has to offer.
“We have all sorts of different programs. Students sometimes don’t realize the entire scope of what’s out there and to just have better vision is very important,” Fields said.
