CLAS Hosts Inaugural Majors & Minors Fair

by Ella Tabares

With the wide breadth of majors that the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has to offer, students can become overwhelmed when trying to make an informed decision about their major. For that reason, AAC advisors partnered with faculty to hold the inaugural CLAS Majors & Minors Fair, which was held from 11AM-1PM on Wednesday, March 17 in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.

Students in other UF colleges benefitted from attending the fair. Representatives, including faculty undergraduate coordinators, showcased the many opportunities their departments have to offer, including combined-degree programs, minors, internships, research, and field experiences.

Liz Kazungu, a CLAS advisor serving on the event planning committee, provides more insight into the goals of the fair: “Our aim was to provide an opportunity for students both within and outside CLAS to get as much information as possible to enhance their education and future prospects.” The committee advertised the fair through partnerships with Residence Life and other departments on campus. CLAS Ambassadors, a newly-formed student group, tabled and passed out flyers on campus leading up to and at the fair.

Faculty and staff from the various CLAS departments are enthusiastic about what the fair offered. Here is what some of them had to say:

“UF has a plethora of opportunities just waiting for students to stumble across. The CLAS M&M fair enabled students to discover these opportunities. We hoped to spread the message that a minor or certificate in Latin American Studies is an excellent option for students who wish to concentrate their work in a specific discipline yet maintain a Latin American focus in their coursework.” —Aimee Green, Program Coordinator, Center for Latin American Studies

“Geography deals with important issues at the interface between society and the environment, including natural hazards, urban sprawl, conservation, climate change, development, biodiversity, disease and health, water, agriculture, population and land use change, housing and real estate, and much more. Our majors use GIS and other technologies for inquiry and problem solving, and the knowledge and skills acquired in our major are directly related to many career paths. Most people think that geographers are concerned naming countries and their capitals or making maps, and that all you can do with a geography degree is teach. They are wrong! We hope that the CLAS M&M Fair enlightened students about the geography major and its potential career avenues, and our friendly, flexible, and fairly small department.” —Dr. Joann Mossa, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator, Department of Geography

“The fair gave us an ideal opportunity to talk to those students who are still shopping around for a major or minor. Many students have probably already explored their options online, but they needed someone like an advisor or faculty member to talk over their options to finally make a decision.” —Branislav Kovalcik, Lecturer, Modern European Studies