About 40 tables representing different academic career paths filled the Michel Student Center ballroom Monday for the annual Academic Majors and Minors fair. Faculty, alumni and staff presented information and answered questions from the 322 students in attendance.
Of those who went to the fair, nearly 65 percent were freshmen and about 23 percent were in the academic exploration program, meaning they had not yet declared a major.
Ken Klotz, managing director for the Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said he saw a variety of students at the fair.
“[Some students] know they want entrepreneurship, but they aren’t sure in the difference between the major and the minor that we have through the Turner School, and then we’ve had students who are just curious about what entrepreneurship is,” Klotz said.
Klotz, who has been a representative at the fair for three years, said he is always amazed at the number of students that show up.
“They have so many other places they can get information from, but I think it’s a great one-stop shop for them,” he said. “They can go from table to table to table and get their questions answered instead of running around to different people’s offices hoping they are in.”
Freshman television arts major Sierra Doss said she came to the fair to look at options for a minor and was able to visit several tables including Spanish, creative writing, English and interactive media.
“I’m really excited because I feel like I could do a lot of these minors,” Doss said. “I knew what tables I wanted to start at, but then a couple others caught my eye. There are a lot of things I didn’t know were minors or options.”
Freshman graphic design major Briana Payne said she came to the fair wanting information about minoring in psychology and interactive media.
“The fair was helpful because I learned you can’t even minor in psychology,” Payne said. “I would’ve tried to be a psychology minor.”
Doss said she wished the fair was held in a bigger room because some tables had too many people crowded around them, inhibiting her from getting information.
However, other tables had a lack of students, according to junior theater arts major Morgan Brennan, who represented the theater arts table.
“The theater department doesn’t get many [students looking for information about] majors and minors at the fair,” Brennan said. “I think a lot of it is [because] unless [students] already know they want to do something related to theater, they don’t think of it as a viable option because it’s a harder career path.”
Despite Bradley’s steadily decreasing enrollment, the Majors and Minors Fair attendance continues to increase with attendance up nearly 20 students from last year and nearly 60 students over the past five years.
