Truman State University - Echo Yearbook (Kirksville, MO)

Page 14 text:

‘Major’ decisions lead to Distinctive concentrations One fact is that there are not as many on campus who have it as a major. It’s a totally different field, said Jim Hurst, junior. When he was in his high school machine class. Hurst found out about a scholarship offered by the society of plastic engineers. After look- ing into it. he eventually received the scholarship. Hurst came to the University to start his studies in plastics. Students worked hard for business degrees, education degrees and a myriad of others offered by the univer- sity. Each student might have argued that his or her degree was the toughest to earn, but a small number of students at the University worked towards degrees that were uncommon and challenging. These students took pride in their major and their future because they worked toward a degree quite different from the norm he said. Hurst add- ed there was quite a demand for plastics majors. Hurst decided to major in plastics because he thought the plastics industry would boom in future years as com- pared to the business field. “The difference from the field of plastics and the field of business is that business is tapering off while plastics is skyrocketing. It's still going to increase in the years to come. he said. The ocean has always been a special attraction to Tyler Erickson, junior, and after having lived in Florida for almost a year, he decided to major in marine fresh water. He attributed his interest to Jacques Cousteau, oceanog- rapher. (His) specials used to be my favorite. said Erickson. I would like to follow in his footsteps. Erickson had studied at the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Spring, MS. so it was unusual to find him studying marine fresh water at a university in Missouri. It's (the University) one of the few Midwestern colleges that have this course of study,” he said. Marine fresh water deals with the ecologv of the ocean and marine zoology. Erickson loved the ocean, but he had one fear, its future existence: pollution. There is a lot more pollution now. We need oceans very badly. he said. Through his knowledge and experience, he planned to use the ocean's resources rather than destroy it. Radiation has been a topic of major concern ever since the first atomic bomb was dropped nearly forty years ago. (Radiation) is not as big of a hazard as crossing a street in New York City. said Lila Albin. radiological surveillance major. I've been interested in radiation ever since high school. said Albin. Her in terest in radiological sur- veillance began with a book she had read. It was about Marie Curie and how she stumbled on radium and radiation,” she said. My major was not estab- lished until two years after I was going here. said Albin. She had been involved in the science department as a chemistry major. When I say I'm in science, people scream and freak out. said Albin. “People think it's too difficult and only strange people are in it. For this intense area of study, one needed the right attitude and concentration to devote to the major. It's generally a more rigorous course of study and demands more mental appliance. said Technical procedures — Machine work engages jeff Hurst, jr.. in the Industrial Arts building. The plastics major chose his field, in part because of a scholarship he was awarded. — Photo by Kay Krupcla Albin. Statistics may not have seemed a very enjoyable ma- jor or profitable in the job market but according to Bob Clark, senior, computer science and statistics double major, it's a good field to get into. “It's a good field to get a job in. Any oig company that makes some kind of product will hire stats people. There are more jobs than people. he said. Most companies need to hire statistics personnel but they don’t have the funds to afford them. The main job for someone in statistics is to save money by determining whether it would cost money to remake (defective pro- ducts) or even more money to change the way of making (the product), said Clark. He became interested in statistics after taking a class for his computer science ma- jor. There is only one re- quired (statistics) source in computer science. I needed to take more electives and I kin- da wanted them related to math. Statistics just happen- ed to be the one he chose. It's something I'd never done be- fore. I think it's interesting. Such majors as marine fresh water, plastics, radio- logical surveillance, and statistics may have seemed unusual to the average per- son. but to these four students it was exactly what they wanted to do. It will open up opportunities for me. said Alhin of her radiological survelliance degree. She planned to continue her education, then someday work with nuclear industry. The less populated majors added diversity to academic offerings and gave students a broader range of career options. Academics = 10 = Unusual Majors

Page 13 text:

plans for more trips to Costa Rica with the intention of recruiting more students and curbing the price. Although the cost scared many students away from the program, the price was ac- tually low for such a major trip. Susan Plassmeyer, junior, said. The low cost and the chances of me doing this after graduation for the same price and benefits are almost virtually nil. That was a big factor in my decision to go. she said. Plassmeyer. a junior who was working toward a double major in business administra- tion and economics, chose to participate for an obvious reason. It allowed me to pick up a bachelor of arts in economics which required 12 hours of foreign language.” Plassmeyer said. Participants in a third trip offered by the University didn't have to travel quite as far to earn their college credit hours. The Division of Social Science, which had offered a travel workshop for ten years, decided to explore the Southeastern United States. Emphasis was on the Civil War and Washington. D.C. We had covered just about every other area of the U.S. except the Southeast, so that's where we went.” said Larry Stephens, assistant pro- fessor of history. For $500, the group of 25 students spent two weeks traveling through Tennessee. Georgia. South Carolina. Virginia, and Washington. D.C. “It was a 500-level workshop so we got a lot of teachers who came back to take it.” said Stephens. The workshop included visits to the Battle of Shiloh in Shiloh. TN; Atlanta. GA and Washington. D.C. Participants of the excur- sion did most of their travel- ing by bus. For one hour, a chartered bus drove the group around the entire bat- tlefield and memorial cemetery at Shiloh. In Washington. D.C.. the group attended Mouse of Representatives. Senate and Supreme Court hearings. Ac- cording to Karen Metzger, sen ior, this was not something that people usual- ly did when visiting the capitol. I went to Washington when I was younger, but it just didn't have the same im- pact. I think going the second time when I did was at the perfect age for me.” Metzgar said. Metzgar. said the trip was informative and entertaining. I would never go to summer school down here otherwise, but this was a fun way to earn three credits. she said. The majority of the people on the trip were teachers from rural Missouri schools who were well informed and had in- put. she said. The trip also helped Met- zgar come to a decision. The East Coast is definitely for me, she said. The three travel workshops attained the goals the University had intended. Participants agreed that the programs were educational, fun and worth the money. Most gained insight about their own lives, whether it was realizing how good we have it in America or something more important. As Dunseith said. I met my fiancee in a disco in Tokyo. Dixieland — Andrea Brown, sr.. and Karen Metzgar. sr.. stand near General Johnston's death place at the battle of Shiloh. The trip was pari of the Southeast Workshop. — Photo by I-arry Stephens Feasf’ivily — At a picnic with family and friends. Fiorella Rojas, sr.. relaxes after a long day. while Dofta Renee Vargas, a native of Costa Rica prepares for the picnic. — Photo by Joni Kuehl Academics = 9 = Travel Workshops

Page 15 text:

Specimen study — Jars containing underwater creatures hold the in- terest of Tyler Erickson, sr. His ma- jor. marine biology-freshwater, was chosen by a small number. — Photo by Kay Krupcla Right combination — Experimen- tation employs the interest of Lila Albin. sr. The radiology' surveillance major became interested in radiation while in high school. — Photo by Kay Krupela Academics = 11 = Unusual Majors