Switching majors not uncommon at PSUC

Plattsburgh State student Ryan Ward was always fascinated with flying. Airplanes, jets or helicopters — he loved them all.  It might have been because he always loved the movie “Top Gun,” however a lifestyle choice led him to decide he would rather stay grounded and explore expeditionary studies.

It’s not uncommon for students to find themselves in similar situations. After studying in their programs for awhile, they sometimes discover that what they expected of their chosen major is far different from the reality.

Ward did try to pursue his career in flying by making significant moves toward becoming a pilot, but it wasn’t what he was looking for.

“Being able to enjoy what I was doing was far more important to me,” Ward said.

He said he did enjoy flying but he didn’t like the path he was taking to get there. So he veered a bit off course. Ward attended North Carolina State University on a full scholarship from the Navy to study aerospace engineering while also be part of the naval ROTC offered there. After a year there, Ward left and attended community college for two years to receive his associate’s degree in liberal arts and humanities.

Later on, Ward got a job at Eastern Mountain Sports and realized he was interested in rock climbing. He then was informed by a friend about the expeditionary program at PSUC. Ever since he got involved he said he loves it and that he is glad he is in the program.

“The teachers are great and it opened a few doors for me,” Ward said.

Ward is currently a senior and will be graduating next fall after his internship this summer in Europe.

Even though student’ views on their major were different from what they imagined them to be, some were prepared.

The time capsule that PSUC student Meaghan Averill and her family buried in 2000 proves that she has wanted to be a nurse for awhile.

“When I was younger I wanted to be a librarian because I always loved to read, but when we dug up the time capsule, I wrote in it that I wanted to be a nurse,” Averill said.

She said she doesn’t ever remember herself wanting to be a nurse, but she’s glad she is in the nursing program now because she loves it so far.

“Before college I heard it was a lot of work, but I just accepted it and was prepared,” Averill said.

PSUC student Kristen Rusiecki was also prepared for her major though she knew it would be a lot of hard work.

Rusiecki is a sophomore also majoring in nursing. She realized in high school that her dream of being a musician might not be her first choice.

“I heard that the music industry was tough to get into, so I decided on nursing,” she said.

Right now Rusiecki said the classes she is  still in the observation phase of her nursing education.

“I hope to be able to do more hands on work in the future,” Rusiecki said.