The Barone Campus Center Oak Room was packed on Thursday afternoon for the Majors and Minors Fair. More than 800 students overall attended the annual event hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, Academic Support and Retention and the Fairfield University Student Association. Additionally, over 50 departments and programs represented across Fairfield’s five undergraduate and graduate schools were at the event.
“The Majors and Minors Fair is an excellent resource for all students. Regardless of year or school, students may attend for informational and exploratory purposes or to formally declare an area of study,” said Colby Lemieux, assistant director of Academic Support and Retention.
The event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., gave students the opportunity to not only speak with members of various academic departments on learning what was necessary to complete the major or minor they were interested in, but they were also able to declare a major or minor on the spot without going through the struggle of having to visit and obtain signatures from various departments on campus. Sophomore Joseph Imbriani, an accounting major, attended the fair to learn more about declaring a second major and minor, and he knew that the fair would be the most accessible way to do both.
“I was able to benefit from it so much that I officially added my second major [in] finance and my minor [in] business law,” Imbriani said. Imbriani’s major and minor declarations were just two of over 100 declarations made during the Majors and Minors Fair with the help of the registrar’s office.
While the event gave FYE Thrive credit to freshmen in attendance, all students were encouraged to attend.
“Students who are undeclared are exposed to the plethora of options Fairfield has to offer, while already declared majors may work on enhancing their current field of study,” Lemieux said. “Additionally, students interested in changing majors and/or schools may benefit from visiting with the represented disciplines.”
Imbriani, a new student leader, thinks that the fair is important for students still looking for the right major.
“I believe [the fair] is important because not all students know what they want to do right when they get to college, and [the school] needs to help these students get on the path that is right for them,” Imbriani said.
Freshman Natasha Seifried attended the fair to learn more about the recently unveiled health sciences minor.
“[The fair] showed me that because of the massive overlap between my bio major and the health studies minor, it would take a lot less additional courses to obtain the minor,” Seifried said.
Seifried felt that the fair was interactive and helped freshmen like herself learn more about the academics of Fairfield. She believes that the fair is an important event for students, freshmen in particular, because it can open their eyes to all Fairfield has to offer.
“Fairfield should keep the Major and Minors Fair running because for those who are undecided, [the fair] lays out potential options and allows students to thoroughly look over which fields of study pique their interest,” Seifried said.
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