The
Benefits of a General Education
Weeks ago when I
first entered school here at the University of Colorado at Boulder, an interviewer
asked me, “What did you study in your first college degree?” I responded by saying a little of everything
from engineering technology, to business, to economics, to the biological
sciences, to social sciences including psychology & anthropology, and even
some history and philosophy. I received a
general studies degree from the University of Southern Indiana in 2012. The interviewer said something along the
lines, “Oh, so you’re a General Specialist”.
After slight hesitation, I said something like, “..Yes, I suppose that I
am.” And so the term, and the idea have
stuck with me over the past few months.
And over this period of time, I have on numerous occasions been very
glad to state that I am a General Specialist.
On some occasions, I have stated I am a General Specialist going back to
seek a second bachelor’s degree in Geography (one of the most interdisciplinary
majors out there), with a specialization in GIS (Geographic Information
Science).
I can’t begin to
tell you all of the times in class, or in social groups, or in academic groups
general knowledge and general skills have been beneficial. In my international development course, there
have been lectures concerning aspects of sustainable development (oh yeah I
know a bit about that, I read Jeffery Sachs book a few years ago), or
microfinance (oh yeah I know a bit about that I wrote a paper four years ago about
microfinance, and I’ve read a few books by the Nobel Prize winning economist Muhammad
Yunus), or we’ve had a lecture looking at historical concepts of development
(oh yeah I’m familiar with the problems/issues of development and their effect
on first peoples). Or maybe I am sitting
there in my environmental hazards course and we’re talking about cost/benefit analysis
and whether or not it’s worth it (from an economic perspective) to buy a snow
blower. Again it’s like “oh yeah, I’ve
done something like that before in microeconomics and again in cost/benefit analysis. Another one, I might be sitting there in
cartography class and we’re talking about RGB and CMYK color systems and I’m
like (“Yeah I know about those, I use those to edit landscape photos from my
DSLR camera.”) Or (same class), we’re
talking about binding labels to a curve (“Yeah I did that in CAD design class),
or data file management (Yeah sure I’ve done that before in information
management). So my point is, it’s all
important. All of those bits of
knowledge allow me to be the guy in the back of a room full of engineers that know nothing about some topic (while being experts in a certain skill set), that
pipes up every once in awhile to lend a different perspective to a
conversation. I guess I’m a leader on occasion
from the back of the room.
All of those
core classes that most people dislike, well those are important (I just happen
to have had 146 credit hours of those courses!)
So, I can have a conversation with a mathematician and understand to a
moderate level what they’re talking about.
I can talk to an engineer and understand flow charts, and 2D or 3D
AutoCAD models, and basics of the design process, and a little something about
circuitry and voltage, and physics, and math, and technical writing and on and
on... And then there’s some of the
social groups I’m involved with.. For
example a progressive Christian ministry accepting to GLBTQ folks, all other
religions, atheists, agnostics, scientists, even conservative Christians.. “We’ll hey I can relate to most of those
groups because maybe I’ve identified with one or of them at a certain point in
my life, or at least I’ve had a long conversation with someone identifying with
most of those groups.” “Hey! I can relate to what you’re saying. I’m open minded, I’m here to listen!”.
Or maybe it’s lending my skills
or knowledge to a group like Engineers Without Borders (EWB). So I was at a meeting today, and the group
was trying to come focus on sustainability of a water system in Nepal. “Well it’s important that we understand what
the people want, and not just what we want to give them. Let’s create a set of survey questions. Let’s understand the culture. What materials do they have access to, and
what skill sets do they have, and what cultural traditions do we need to respect/understand
as outsiders?...”. Later in the meeting,
“How do we organize/deal with all of these hundreds of pages of documentation?..” My response, “Oh well I used to work for the census
bureau, and they have tons of paperwork for every type of situation
possible. I know a bit about paperwork..” Or later
the group is talking about Nepalese cuisine, “Oh well I used to be a commercial
cook/manager for six months. I can cook
you some curry!”. Smile. :D
Or maybe I’m
talking to my professor about a summer internship, “What courses have you taken? What skill sets do you have? Have you taken some statistics courses?” Me, “Well I know about natural hazards,
cost/benefit analysis, math, data management, science.. I have skills with multiple types of computer
software.. Yes I’ve taken a statistics course, and plan to learn R
programming.. I’m taking cartography and
can build you a geodatabase with multiple layers, and will be learning to
analyze it at a higher level next semester.”
Professor, “Oh well that’s great!
I can get introduce you to someone in the local government. We’ll just write him an email and get you a
paid internship for the summer.. And,
now that I think about it there’s this course that might be of interest to you
being offered next semester. It will
deal with some spatial analysis, covering a wide range of topics. It should be right up your alley! Oh, and hey well they’re offering some of the
students paid summer work with the university!”…
And then there’s
this time in Fort Collins, CO I’m sitting in a bar making small talk with the
bartender about GIS and my interest in it.
And this guy sitting two seats down from me, in this nearly empty bar,
pipes up, “Oh I know someone in the industry!
I’ll send him an email for you.
He’s the type of guy that will email you.. Not the other way around..” And he emails this contact, and hands me his business
card. I get an email message within
sixty seconds and it’s the, “Director of Standards for the Open Geospatial
Consortium.” Well that’s just
cool!.. I’ve termed it, “Accidental Bar
Networking”. ;) Later I find out that
the man in the bar, was a computer genius that started his own company at age
12, and now runs some huge “green analysis” computer consulting business just
because he loves it. You just never know
who you’re sitting next to in a bar.
Take the risk!
So, in
conclusion, I have already found my wide spanning knowledge and skill base to
be of use. While (currently) I am not an
expert in anything (and am certainly no genius), I can relate to all sorts of
academic conversations. And heck, I even
meet geniuses accidentally in bars on occasion.. ;)
The whole point
of this blog, “Life is a Mountain Path”, is to challenge yourself, be open
minded, try new things, ride the waves of life (ups and downs), and never give
up. You just don’t know what’s around
the next bend, life’s an adventure, and a good wide range of skills and
knowledge can still be very beneficial in the 21st century.
I still have no
idea where I am going with all of this.
But do I regret any of the college courses I’ve ever taken? Even the ones I’ve done poorly in? Well, “NO!
I am very thankful that I can talk to an engineer, a person from another
religion, an economist, a photographer, a mapmaker, a historian, an
anthropologist, etc.. And hey, it doesn’t
all go over my head completely. And hey,
sometimes I can lend a different perspective to a conversation from the back
seat of the room. And hey, I just met
this cool scientist at a bar the other day.
And hey, I’ve got some bar stories to tell you about that time I was
stuck in a storm for hours in the boulder field on Longs Peak. Yeah, and there’s that trip I took all over
the United States visiting national parks, major regional cities, mountains,
beaches, and deserts. So yes, those “General
Education” courses are totally worth it! And yes, I’m glad I spent 7 years, on and off,
at the University of Southern Indiana getting that first bachelor’s degree and
exploring a bit of everything. And heck,
(I’ll finally admit it..) I did learn a thing or two from Purdue.
You never know when you might need to duct
tape a hose together in a tiny spacecraft halfway to the moon. Or (fictional at this point), you never know
when you might need to calculate the trajectory of extending a Mars mission
500+ days (or use those botany skills to make a potato farm.) - Go see, “The Martian” or read the book if
you don’t get it. ;)
Nick Whittemore
General Specialist
Student of Geography
22 October, 2015
