As a junior, I have been focusing on deciding what to do after graduation by looking into and applying for different internships and summer programs. For this reason, I thought that Professor Dan Schwarz’s presentation was a great way to make sure that I am on the right track to finding my career path. One of the points that Dr. Schwarz made that really resonated with me was the need to take a variety of classes, specifically in economics, computing, and the humanities (although I would also add sciences like chemistry or physics to this list). Being a chemical engineer, I barely have any flexibility when choosing my classes; generally, I only choose one class a semester that I want to take. However, Dr. Schwarz had a great point about how college is not just a time to learn about your desired field, but that college is also a time to grow as a person. This means that I should not only focus on becoming an educated chemical engineer, but also focus on becoming an educated human being. In my case, this would mean by taking other classes like art history, macroeconomics, and wine tasting which I am also interested in.

Additionally, Dr. Schwarz also stressed the importance of getting to know professors. Although I have gotten to know a couple of professors in my major, I almost always talk to TA’s when I need help in my class instead of the professor, meaning I don’t have the chance to talk to the professors. But after hearing how important this is, I think from now on I will focus on making more of a connection with my professors.