Hello Cornerstone students! We are very excited to begin our mentoring blog. We are going to use this first post as a time to get to know one another and ease into our blogging. Don’t forget to check back throughout the week to see if other students have posted questions or replies for you. Please include the following info in your first post:
• Who are you? What are your areas / minors?
• What year are you?
• How do you explain IDS to others?
• What are the advantages/disadvantages of an interdisciplinary education?
Please leave your replies as a comment to this post. Don’t forget to include your full name in your post so that you receive credit. When responding to other students, you may find it helpful to begin your response with, “@their name” so that it is easy to see who you are directing your question/comment to. We can’t wait to get to know each of you and are looking forward to our semester together!
Kelly J.I am Kelly Jasen. I am so excited to finally be graduating in May! My concentrations are in Behavioral & Social Sciences and Health and I will have a minor in Aging Studies. When someone asks me what “Interdisciplinary Studies” is (which happens ALL the time), I explain it like so: “Instead of picking just one subject area like a traditional major, I split my studies into two subject areas and I have a minor.” I think that two major advantages of an Interdisciplinary degree is that it is great for students who are passionate about more than one subject area and it allows for flexibility in our job opportunities post-graduation. When I returned to school after a 7 year break, I thought I really wanted to work with the elderly. Since UCF does not offer a Bachelor’s in Gerontology or anything related, I felt this degree and combination of subject areas would benefit me the most. Just last week, I began a great new job which is not elder-related, but it does use my 2 areas of concentration. See why our flexible degree is so appealing?! :-) One disadvantage to choosing an IDS degree is that not many people know what it is. I have to explain the degree anytime someone asks me what I study at UCF and some people don’t think it’s a very “legitimate” degree. Hopefully, once I explain IDS, they understand the value of having multiple study areas. I truly believe the benefits of an IDS degree greatly outweigh the negatives and have been very satisfied with my degree choice and the employment opportunities IDS has opened up for me.
Emily L.My name is Emily Lumpkin and this will be my last semester at UCF. I am so excited for this last semester, but I know that I will miss it in the end. I actually started at UCF as a Molecular Biology & Microbiology (M&M) Major. About two years into that program I realized that despite my desire to become a doctor (from the age of three!) it really wasn't for me at all. I began my search for a new major, but to do so I actually had to search for my intended career first and this is how I came to IDS. I landed on the idea that I was going to become a hairstylist, and then I decided that I would be wasting my education with such a basic goal, so I later made up my mind to eventually open and own a salon/day spa. Well, I began looking at business classes, but I realized that the curriculum was going to go in too much of a corporate direction, and my industry is actually based on personality and interaction socially. Well then I thought that only sociology classes weren't going to cut it either. When I met with an advisor in the Second Year office, he introduced me to the option of Interdisciplinary Studies and the rest is history! My two subject areas are Commerce and Behavioral/Social Sciences with a minor in History. I think IDS is perfect for those who just don't quite fit in one nice, neat, little package of a discipline. I typically use this when I am explaining IDS to people because it helps to share with them that IDS allows for a more well rounded education. I find that it helps to explain that while most employers may not be familiar with IDS, they should consider the advantages of someone who is well trained in multiple fields. We are flexible in our thinking strategies, and also we are able to integrate knowledge from normally disjointed topics. Naturally you are going to encounter those who just don't take you seriously, and they may think that IDS is somewhat of a bogus major, but I want you to remember that after all of your training to become an interdisciplinarian, working somewhere so close minded probably won't be your best fit. Getting turned down once or twice by someone who doesn't understand or accept IDS may lead you to someone who wholeheartedly embraces the Interdisciplinary concept, and thus will most likely be the best fit for you in the long run. Keep an open mind and IDS will lead you to more options then you could ever have imagined. Hope you have a great semester, and of course a fantastic journey at UCF!
Sarah P.Hey Everyone! I am Sarah Petree! I am very excited to be graduating this semester. My areas in Interdisciplinary Studies are Life and Biomedical Sciences and Humanities with a minor in Chemistry. I picked these cores because I am attending medical school. Biomedical sciences and Chemistry contain many required courses. With Humanities, I feel like it in necessary for a doctor to be able to relate with their patients and understand them to provide a better quality of care. By taking those courses, I give myself a leg up on the competition because I feel as though not only am I having a chance to take the requirements, I am also able to learn the philosophy behind my future job. I get to learn about the ethical principles behind medicine and new drugs. No other future med student can say that. There are not a lot of disadvantages to this Major. As long as you work hard and are self motivated IDS is great and will help you enjoy your time at UCF.
Nicole V.Hello, I am Nicole Verlato. My areas of study are as follows, Education and Behavioral and Social Sciences. My minor is health services Administration. I am a senior here at UCF. IDS is a process of answering a question, solving a problem, or addressing a topic that is too broad or complex to be dealt with adequately by a single discipline or profession. It integrates their insights to produce a more comprehensive understanding or cognitive advancement. The advantages of an interdisciplinary education that IDS graduate will have at least three careers , not three jobs but three quite different career in their working lifetime so with IDS education they have three different area of studies and minor to graduate with and further their opportunity in their career. Life is interdisciplinary. It doesn’t have departments. It doesn’t have majors with a pre-formatted program to follow. Life is messy, interesting, complex, exhilarating, excruciating, and surprising. And definitely interdisciplinary. It is a world widespread because educators recognized that it is needed. The disadvantages of an interdisciplinary education are not having the knowledge of fields of study. It is a lot of research that is involved with ids education. It does not lay claim to a universally recognized core of knowledge but rather draws on existing disciplinary knowledge.
Jarna P.Before attending college, I was always interested in Medicine. While in high school I was encouraged by my parents to volunteer for a local hospital. By the time I had started my undergraduate career at the University of Central Florida I declared my major as Pre-Medicine because of my volunteer experience. However, after being exposed to a few of the Pre-Medical classes I learned that becoming a doctor was no longer what I wanted to do. I found that I enjoyed certain Science classes, and decided to change my major to IDS because it exposes you to a broader range of potential careers. I started doing research on different medical careers and found the Physician Assistant program. Initially I did not know much about this career in the hands on aspect, however on paper it seemed appealing. I decided to find a Physician Assistant to shadow, and this is when I found my love for this career. Outside of my educational career at UCF, I have had the opportunity to be engaged in Greek life. As a Greek, I was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, and through this experience I learned how to balance a social life as well as my educational career. While being a member I took part in many community service, and enrichment events. Between the values my parents have taught me and the one’s I have gained through my college experience have made me who I am today. I am still young, and have many more challenges, experiences, and values to learn in life. I am looking forward to what the next chapters in my life will bring.
