by Cassandra L. Hernandez, College of Alameda student
Being in high school or a freshman in college, all you hear about is what major you are considering. It is a daunting thing for most as this is what dictates what will come out on your diploma and what classes you will be taking. For others, they already have a few choices or one set choice in mind as they have a pretty clear idea of their dream career. For a concerning minority, they choose a random major they believe will be the “easiest” or genuinely don’t have anything in mind. Whatever the situation students may be in, at some point they will need to declare a major. How does one do that? Who do you talk to? How do you know which major suits you best? These were all questions I asked myself in my senior year of high school and into my freshman year of college.
I knew I always had an interest in taking on a medical career. Specifically, I wanted to be a nurse practitioner. A lot of people think that a nursing major would suit me best but I didn’t think so. I wanted to leave doors open in case I could overachieve or go a different route in the medical field. There are a plethora of positions one could take in the medical field! I knew I wanted to do the physical stuff and was always interested in how the human body functions. These were the words I exchanged with my academic counselor, and he told me that a science major sounds like something I would be interested in. This was before I had decided to attend College of Alameda and my sights were set on a 4-year university instead, so there were many options I would pick from. I had chosen “Public Health” as I was not well-originated in what exact major worked best for me so when I came to College of Alameda, I had chosen Biology as a default. Before I started my Fall 2024 semester, I had made many appointments with the academic counselors until I had landed with Fathia Mohamed—who happens to be the founder of SALAAM and an EOPS counselor—and made me feel more secure with my major.
I expressed to her some of my concerns about my classes after discussing my Student Education Plan with another Biology major. She looked over the courses I had planned to take and made some incredibly helpful recommendations. I had been assigned more math courses than I needed and I was not meeting my GE requirements along with skipping the prerequisites I needed. I had also explained to her what type of career I want and she recommended that I take “Molecular Cell and Biology” when I transfer to a 4-year institution. The Biology major here at College of Alameda was knocking out the classes I would need to transfer to my desired university as well as focus on something I want to do. She even recommended I do a double major as I still had space to fit a Liberal Arts major. I look forward to seeing her again along with the other academic counselors when it comes time for my regular check-ins requirement by the EOPS program. I have no doubt that Biology is something I want to study and will love doing while allowing me to pursue my career in the medical field.
Take the time to discuss with an academic counselor about what you wish to do. Look over the common majors within the field you wish to enter. You also have to be aware of whether your college offers the classes your major needs or if you’ll need to attend another Peralta college. If you are unsure about something, head down to the Welcome Center and ask to meet with an academic counselor. Don’t keep your concerns or questions to yourself! There are wonderful people waiting to guide you in your academic endeavors!