It is common for students to switch majors during their undergraduate years, but it can be tough for some to make that transition.
Professor Christopher Gbogi, a graduate assistant pursuing a master’s degree in business administration, knows that experience firsthand.
Gbogi started out as a political science major, but switched to finance and marketing during his sophomore year.
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Gbogi changed his major while at SHU and said the experience helped him discover his path.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Gbogi[/caption]
“Originally, in high school, I was a part of Model UN, Mock Trial, I did a whole bunch of different types of things and I knew my plan was to go to law,” Gbogi said. “I came to college and started studying political science.”
He said, though he did well in his classes, he did not find himself to be as passionate about politics as his peers. Gbogi noted that one does not have to be a political science major in order to go into law school, this influenced his decision as well.
“You can be any major you want to be and just take the BAR exam and you’ll be set,” Gbogi said. “So I was thinking about ‘Okay, if I’m going to do that, let me try to maximize my opportunities,’ so I tried to strategize in case I didn’t end up going to law school.”
During his time at SHU, Gbogi took a leadership role on the Student Activities Board (SAB), founded the Gaming Sector and became a Peer Adviser. Gbogi went for business and attained five internships, two majors, three certificates and is on his way to finishing his master’s.
Gbogi said that not knowing one’s path for the future is not necessarily a bad thing but is often a factor in a student’s journey.
“If you’re in your major currently, and you don’t know where you want to be, that’s okay,” he said. “People even graduate and they don’t know exactly where they want to be or what they want to do. Even so, don’t let not knowing stop you from searching. Life is an adventure. You have a duty to yourself to proactively search, proactively find out what you want.”
Gbogi imparts his experience and advice to his students like Ellis Mitchell, a freshman sports management major, who was in his University of Life course.
“His expectations for the class were always clear and he also went above and beyond to make it entertaining for everyone, mostly incorporating his love of memes to the lectures,” Mitchell said. “Professor Gbogi didn’t get the ‘Most Likely to Sleep with His Eyes Open’ award for nothing.”
Another student that knows Gbogi, Daniel Kim, a senior diplomacy and international relations major, explained the most valuable thing he learned from him.
“In order to be successful in any field, you have to be hungry for new information and seek out every opportunity you can find,” he said. “In some cases, you will have to make your own opportunities to achieve your goals.”
Adam Varoqua can be reached at adam.varoqua@student.shu.edu.
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