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Academic Advising
Alyssa Deis: "Public Administration is a Really Good Fit for Me."
Text Transcript
(In this video junior Alyssa Deis, a major in public administration, describes how her attendance at the Exploring Majors Fair helped her find her niche.)
"When I was first interested in Miami, I was very interested in the business program. I had heard really good things about it, and I talked with business professors. So, I came to Miami with my heart set on the business school, but once I started taking the prerequisites — the math and science courses — I realized that it wasn't for me.
"And, so I'm a very planned person; I like to have my path and when I didn't have a specific path I became really nervous and I talked with my first year advisor who directed me towards the Exploring Majors Fair. I got a lot of information. I went in with an open mind and I really found where I was supposed to be.
"When I first started exploring different majors, I was interested in business administration and non-profit administration, and since I had ruled out business, I looked over to the non-profit sector, which Miami has nested in the political science department under public administration. I looked through the course booklet that my first year advisor had handed out and gave to me. I kind of had my heart set on that then.
"I just researched and found that that was my fit and I've been doing that now for two years and I've just added on a minor in communications just to supplement that education, and I just feel like I found where I fit because of that and the Exploring Majors Fair. Without attending the Exploring Majors Fair, I don't necessarily think that I would have found my niche, just because reading different majors in the course booklet is completely different from getting that hands-on experience and finding those contacts that you do find at the Exploring Majors Fair. Even just picking up different information, you kind of pick up on vibes from professors and find where you need to be by doing that.
"Non-profit administration is a very vague field and I am really interested in the government relations side, and public administration is a really good fit for me. Because of that, I'm able to take political science courses, and most non-profit business courses as well, just through my major. I feel it's preparing me with the competency skills, and reading and writing, and then I'm supplementing with my minor in communications as well."
[January 2013]