Majors fair showcases wide range

An information session designed to introduce students to the wide range of majors UConn offers was hosted at the Student Union Ballroom Wednesday.

The event, co-sponsored by ACES and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, displayed over 40 majors offered at UConn. Departmental advisors, faculty members and student representatives represented their respective majors. Tables were set up around the ballroom, occupying it to its maximum capacity. Bowls filled with candy offered students a sweet incentive to approach the tables of the majors that interested them.

“This is my first time tabling for my major in the major fair,” said Jun Sakaki, a 7th-semester nutritional sciences major. “I really enjoy it.”

Professor Ronda A. Brownbill, the head of the Didactic Program, was the faculty member representing the Nutritional Sciences Department. “I really enjoy talking to students about nutritional sciences. I like to share my passion for nutrition and this fair gave me this opportunity to express it effectively.”

Brownbill said students interested in applying to medical school will find the nutritional sciences major to be of particular interest.

“I feel that providing information about the opportunities they have in this field has broadened their thinking for settling on a major,” she said.

Kamil Jalonowski, a 1st-semester horticulture major, said, “What I liked most about the majors fair was that I got to talk to both the faculty members and students from many different majors. The faculty members had a stronger knowledge of the department they are in so they provided many concrete answers. The student representatives gave me more personal answers about the majors. They told me about some of their experiences in specific classes that were required for the major, both the benefits and downfalls of each class.”

But Jalonowski was disappointed that horticulture was not one of the majors represented at the fair. “I was actually kind of looking forward to learning more about my major here,” he said.

“I was required to come to this fair for my FYE class,” said Liz Nauss, a 1st-semester business major. “Even though I’m already declared as a business major, this fair actually informed me a lot about both my major and other majors too. There were some majors that I didn’t even know existed in UConn, like cognitive sciences, and they seem pretty interesting to me. I’m already thinking about double majoring or minoring in a major of interest.”

At the end of the fair, each student was provided a survey to fill out about their opinions about the fair.