Career Center Blog

Every Friday, we’ll be highlighting some helpful information specifically for first-year students. Today we’re looking at course selection, so pull up your backpack on Wolverine Access! You can take a look at all the Freshman Friday posts here.

Undergraduate registration for Winter semester is officially underway, and you’re probably busy thinking about what classes you should add to your schedule before your registration date. Hopefully you’ve met with your academic advisor, but we thought it would also be helpful to ask some of our student employees here at The Career Center what courses they found helpful in exploring career options, defining their career path, or providing an experience that helped prepare them for internships and jobs. Here’s what they had to say:

Amara Lopez – Information Desk Assistant
Senior, Cultural Anthropology and Latin@ Studies

American Culture 213: Intro to Latino Studies – I found my concentration, and found ideas for internships through taking this class. It covers a lot of information, has a lot of guest speakers, and introduces a broad spectrum of academic disciplines (History, Political Science, Sociology, Womens Studies, many more…).

American Culture 311: Ethnic Studies Race and Mixed Race (note: this course was offered during Fall semester, but there is another version on a different topic for Winter 2012) – Actually the most valuable course I have ever taken. I strongly feel that every undergraduate student needs to take THIS VERY CLASS. Amazing professor (Alsultany) who ran the best lecture I have ever been in. Interactive, informative, allowed everyone to develop their own opinions, more than just talking at the students, constantly challenged students…just the most amazing course. It helped me by providing a new perspective on race, ethnicity, and identity in general as it affects and interacts with different societies and cultures. It would aid anyone wanting to study Sociology/Ethnic/American Culture/History. You will look at the U.S. in a different light after this course, and I mean that in the best way.

Cassie Hazelip – Student Coordinator, Public Service Intern Program
Senior, Political Science and International Studies

Psych 211: Project Outreach – Students can really take any of the Project Outreach courses. They’re an awesome way to get involved in the community and meet people with similar interests. Led by Peer Facilitators, the class discussions are rewarding and relaxed.

AAPTIS 200: World Religions (note: this course was offered during Fall semester) – Focusing on Islam, Christianity and Judaism, this course gives students a great foundation for understanding the three major religions of the world. The readings are super interesting, and the lectures bring three professors together to share their backgrounds.

Katherine Man – Information Desk Assistant
Sophomore, College of LS&A

UC 122: Intergroup Dialogues – I really enjoyed this class and would highly recommend it to a freshman. It’s a 2 credit course that teaches you a lot about self-control and keeping an open-mind. Taken from their website, “The Program on Intergroup Relations (IGR) is a social justice education program on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. As a joint venture of the College of Literature, Science, and Arts and the Division of Student Affairs, IGR works proactively to promote understanding of intergroup relations inside and outside of the classroom.” Small groups of students are placed in a dialogue run by peer facilitators with a specific topic and are engaged in discussions about race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.

LaShaunique Plummer – Information Desk Assistant
Senior, Ross School of Business

SM 101: Public and Small Group Communication – This course is helpful because in a lot of internships you will have to present — plus, communication is just a good life skill. The course covers a lot of different areas of public speaking including interviewing, presenting on random topics, and presenting in a group. Although people tend to be afraid of this class because it is public speaking, the environment is very nurturing and gives you a sense of self-confidence and skills to use during presentations. I have used skills that I learned from this class throughout my college career. I have also chosen business communications as one of my majors because I think it is very important.

Nell Gable – Communications Intern
Senior, History (minor in Program in the Environment)

Environ 201: Ecological Issues – This is like a beginner’s guide to understanding the natural environment, our place in it and the issues surrounding it in today’s changing world. This class is highly objective and relevant to students interested in any field, as chances are, the state of the environment will affect everyone in the future. It counts as a natural science course and has no prerequisites. I took it first semester freshman year and it gave me the framework for understanding environmental issues and inspired me to take other Environ courses. Overall, a very important class.

Paul Kitti – Peer Advisor
Junior, Sport Management

English 223: Creative Writing – I enrolled in this class during the second semester of my freshman year. It was a creative writing section focused on short fiction and poetry. While it didn’t directly lead to a dream internship or a career epiphany, it did get me thinking about writing in a different way. It provided an outlet that allowed me to balance the constant wave of academic writing assignments with something more natural and innovative, and it changed the way I looked at other writing assignments, even cover letters and job application essays.

If you’d like help considering ways that your courses might translate to different career paths, make an appointment with one of our Career Coaches or Peer Advisors before or after Winter Break!