A liberal arts education benefits people academically, but it also holds a deeper meaning. The drive to accel in life has different meanings for people. People typically attend college to get a degree to get a job. Having financial security can cause people to feel safe and that they are doing well in life. Some people want stability in their lives. Another side to excelling in life is that there is a greater purpose than stability and financial security.
Of course, a private liberal arts university is incredibly more expensive than a state university. I told my choir director that I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and I knew I was supposed to go to St. Ambrose. The problem with this is obvious: Teaching does not make that much money. St. Ambrose is a private school and is expensive, even if I have scholarships. He then told me, “Everyone has debt. Education is a very very very good debt to have.” This resonated with me for awhile. I do not care if I live in a mansion, but I do want to survive and not live on the streets. This is still a struggle, but I am here at St. Ambrose, and I do have an intended major in Elementary Education. Students’ majors always change, but there is more to a liberal arts education than a degree to get a job.
Everyone is different. We will always need medical doctors, and they may feel that the best thing to help them is not a liberal arts education. Even so, a stigma can occasionally arise. Liberal arts is not only for those that are not pursuing to be a medical doctor. Education is about connecting different subjects together and seeing how they work in the world. Learning different subjects help with life, and they will help with my future career, whatever that may be.
Someone can feel unfulfilled even when they have achieved the job they wanted. This is why it is important for people to be educated not only for their occupation, but for what they are really seeking out of life.
In college, you meet people from different walks in life. You learn how to do well in your profession. You make lifelong friends and maybe even a future spouse. College is not for everyone, but there is still a priceless value to it. In a liberal arts college, you learn that you were wrong about many thoughts you had in high school. You knew you wanted to do a certain job, but other people pushed you to do something else. Your classes not intended for your major helped you with this. People that are not in your major helped you with this. Liberal arts is about not restricting our minds. It is about freeing ourselves so that we may free others.