Each college student faces their own unique college experience that coincides with one’s major. No one has the same experience or goes through the same day-to-day schedule and tasks. Rebecca Gorman, a junior finance major with actuarial science as a minor at Millikin University in Decatur Illinois knows exactly of this struggle.
Through the course of the school day, Rebecca takes a total of six classes totaling approximately eighteen total credit hours. Being that her major is a math-heavy major with a math-heavy minor Rebecca spends most of her day working with numbers with two finance classes, three math classes, and a business class.
Not only is Rebecca a full-time college student but she also works part-time at Von-Maur in Forsyth Illinois. Due to her busy schedule, she tries to get as much work as she can do when she has a break between classes. When she is not studying, working at Von-Maur, or doing homework Rebecca spends her free time with her Greek life fraternity.
On top of all her other work, Rebecca is a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity on Millikin’s campus. Alpha Phi Omega works with the community bringing service opportunities to students, along with building leadership qualities. By joining this service fraternity Rebecca is able to help give back to the community through community service, the ability to meet like-minded people, and being given many leadership opportunities.
Through all the work Rebecca is doing she could not be happier claiming
“I’m a numbers person, so being able to work with numbers and give them meaning is something that I really enjoy. I also like that it is black and white so there is typically only one right answer.”
Being that Rebecca enjoys the work in her major she believes she will never work a day in her life. This happens to be her biggest piece of advice, of only going into something, if it is something that you are really passionate about, because if you do something you love you will never really work a day in your life.
Of course, there will always be struggles as there always are in life. For example, Rebecca’s biggest struggle is having to fit every class she needs to graduate in two years as she switched her major from chemistry/pre-med to finance major and an actuarial sciences minor after her sophomore year. However, Rebecca does not struggle with the hardest part of being a finance major according to the head of the finance department at Millikin University, Doctor Christopher Marquette who claims
”Having the math skills required for the finance major are something many students struggle with.”.
At the end of the day being a finance major has its ups and downs just like any other major would have. But if one is good at working with numbers and is disciplined, students of the finance major gain skills and valuable information that is beneficial to a career and for building a personal wallet so that one can enjoy the finer things in life.
Perfectionist, bookworm, finance major that understands the analysis of good financial decisions & the powerful value of the right time & opportunity for you.