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Academic Advising
Brooke Warren: "You Really Can Go Anywhere with Anthropology"
Text Transcript
(In this video senior Brooke Warren, a major in anthropology, describes how her interest in working with people led to finding her major.)
"When I came to Miami I started out as a studio art major. I was a studio art major for about a semester and then I decided that it really wasn't where I wanted to be. I automatically went to my first-year advisor and was like, 'What do I do? It's almost registration and I don't have any classes.' He [advisor] helped me put some classes together real quick and he told me to come to the College of Arts and Science Advising Office.
"I spoke with my advisor over the next couple of semesters and really kind of talked to her about what I was interested in, how I was doing in my classes, and where things were going. I ended up telling her that I was really interested in working with people and I really find people interesting, so I thought maybe sociology was where I wanted to go. She really recommended that I look into anthropology and I was like, 'I really don't think that's how it's going to go.' I was like, 'You know, I've heard so many terrible things about anthropology classes,' and, 'You don't want to take it for the Miami Plan.'
"I registered for an anthropology class, I took my first one, and I fell in love with it. A week later I went into her [advisor's] office and told her that's what I wanted to do. After that point, I looked at where I could go with anthropology, and looked into all the other majors and minors that are offered at Miami. I really decided that the corporate world is where I want to be so I've added management and leadership minors to kind of tailor that to human resources.
"I think it would be very beneficial for students at really any level, any college level, to attend the Exploring Majors Fair because you never know what might be out there that you're interested in that you haven't looked into — especially being an undecided student; it's really scary and you can feel really overwhelmed by the amount of information that can be flowing in, that's coming through emails, that you're seeing posted everywhere; just going to that fair is really helpful in seeing what can be offered in each major. You're able to talk with faculty members; talk with advisors, and it really just helps you hone in on what you're interested in.
"With studying anthropology, it's such a general study — I guess is the best way to say it. You really can go anywhere with it and I'm really looking into the cultural aspect of it and really applying that to human resources. In the studying I've been able to do in anthropology, I've really learned how to work with people on a different level. I understand what motivates people, and what pushes them to make the decisions that they make in this world.
"I think that learning those things can really help me in any human resources endeavors because you really want to know in the corporate world, and especially in human resources, what is going to motivate people in the office life — what's going to motivate your employees. I think anthropology is a really great foundation to have for human resources."
[January 2013]