Editorial: Finding your academic interests takes time

I came into university excited but extremely unprepared for what I was getting myself into academically. Throughout my four years of high school, I never found a true passion for a certain area of study. I applied blindly to university business programs simply because I enjoyed my grade 11 marketing course and wanted to learn more topics relating to it.

It also worked out because this was one of the few programs that my Chinese parents approved of, considering that I didn’t take any science courses in grade 12. The only thing I knew at this point was that I wanted to go to Laurier.

Taking a chance, I applied to Laurier’s BBA and Computer Science double-degree program, and I got in. Although I had no idea what to expect, I knew the program was great and had high hopes of becoming fully versed in both business and computer science, and to be working for a big company down in California some time by the end of my fourth year.

Now in my last term at Laurier, I can say that that definitely wasn’t the case.

By the end of grade 12, my calculus mark dropped. I lost my spot in the double-degree program and got placed into the BBA-only program.

I thought Grade 12 was bad, but first year wasn’t much better. Of the three mandatory business classes we had to take, I failed the midterms for two of them, and had to retake the third class over the summer to make the business GPA.

On top of that, I barely made it out of macroeconomics alive, and I really started to wonder if this program was for me; but I kept at it, mostly because I didn’t know what else I wanted to study.

Two weeks into the fall semester of fourth year, I realized that supply chain was, in fact, not for me. I chose to pursue a marketing concentration instead which was fitting considering my positions as Varsity Sports Photographer and Graphic Designer within Laurier Athletics.

Moving into second year, the mandatory business courses were a lot more specific and interesting. Although I was still not getting the best grades, I was doing a lot better and I started to find interests in business that I had not been aware of before.

As my academic life got better, so did my extracurricular life. The passion that I had built for photography at the end of second year gave me the opportunity to work professionally for Laurier Athletics last year, and pursue my love for sports. From there, my work experience and meeting the right people helped me realize that I had a fascination for the business behind the sports industry.

I spent this past summer trying to figure out how to combine supply chain with sports since it was the business concentration I wanted to follow in my fourth year, but couldn’t come to a consensus that made me content.

Two weeks into the fall semester of fourth year, I realized that supply chain was, in fact, not for me. I chose to pursue a marketing concentration instead which was fitting considering my positions as Varsity Sports Photographer and Graphic Designer within Laurier Athletics.

Although my university journey these past four years has had its fair share of ups and downs, it helped me figure out what I want to do in life, and I cannot wait to start my postgrad in a Sports Management program upon completing my undergrad.

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