In a striking opinion piece published in the New York Times, Joshua Kam describes the angst of being a cosmopolitan international student in Middle America. After finding the right college and finding the right major for him, he often found himself struggling to explain his origins to people he met, and justifying a liberal arts major that helped him find context in his life.
This is another example of how the liberal arts are truly “liberating.” This young man’s foray into history and the Classics have taught him a great deal about himself. While it’s true that college students will someday emerge from the cocoon of college into the wide, wide world to make a living, the educational experience of the liberal arts can help students understand their world better, improve their ability to communicate with others, and sharpen one’s analytical skills in ways that are hard to quantify.
The good thing is that employers are looking for students like this one (who studies at Hope College in Michigan–which is a member of the Colleges That Change Lives consortium) who can elegantly argue a case in the court of public opinion.
Read the piece here.
Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant and Admissions Expert
