By Blake Ann Seeker
Declaring your college major is a big step in your academic life. Many students, myself among them, remain “undecided” for some time. It’s a good idea to take a variety of classes, weigh options with the help of advisors and professors, or even reach out to the Hegi Family Career Development Center before making the big decision. I was in this position of uncertainty for my first two years at SMU. Not to worry though, as pre-med student I had plenty of medical school prerequisite courses to keep me busy. When SMU’s Anthropology Department announced the creation of new Health and Society Major this past summer, I knew my search was over. The Health and Society Major uniquely takes an interdisciplinary approach to the practice and study of health in global and cultural contexts. It also offers two tracks—one physiological and the other social and cultural. Through this curriculum, I have enjoyed classes from genetics to bioethics to medical anthropology.
My favorite class of the semester was the capstone of the course, Health in Cross Cultural Perspectives taught by Dr. Nia Parson. I was one only of six students in this round-table style class and can honestly and emphatically say that I loved attending this class each week. After all that deliberation, I am truly very happy with my major decision. I am also now following the trend of most SMU students by adding another major and minor! I am thankful to attend a university where such a flexible and personalized degree plan is possible. Pony Up!