My name is Blake and I am a senior religious studies and advertising student with a minor in history. I know it is a weird combination, in fact, I kind of dread telling people what my major is because the majority of the time they ask if I am going to do advertisements for religious organizations when I graduate. I'm not exactly sure what I will be doing when May rolls around, but I can guarantee it won't be that!
I came to college as a marketing major and after less than a week of pre-calc for business, I KNEW marketing was not for me. Math has never been a strength of mine, but I was still interested in that field so I switched to advertising, which is in the Gaylord College of Journalism. In Gaylord, you are required to have a minor to accompany your degree. I have always been interested in religions so I decided to make that my minor, but coming in with so many hours from concurrent enrollment, my advisor told me that I could be a dual degree student by only taking a couple more hours. Why not, it can't hurt to have two degrees, I thought.
Then last semester, during my advisement, my advisor noticed that I had taken so many religious studies courses that were HIST course requirement numbers that I was also able to declare a minor in history without any extra courses. So the religious studies degree and history minor kind of just fell into my lap. But I am so glad that they did.
Over this past year I have realized I am not as interested in advertising, or good at it, as I had hoped to be. I found myself enjoying my religious studies and history classes much more and after a lot of thinking this past semester, I have decided to try to pursue a job as an English teacher overseas once graduation rolls around. Once a week I go to Oklahoma City and tutor and observe a class of adult students who are native Spanish speakers hoping to improve their English language skills. I really enjoy it and hope I can have a classroom of my own this time next year. I will be spending a lot of time this semester looking for a job overseas, so fingers crossed that it works out!
While I really want to find a job, I will miss my dog if it works out. Her name is Pookie, and she is a 14 year old Bichon Frise. I am an only child, so she has been like my sibling since I was 8 years old. Here are some pictures of her eating the cookies (treats) that Santa left behind! And then looking at me, like "where are the rest?!" She is spoiled, but she sure is cute.
Licking the plate clean!
(personal photo)
The face of a spoiled little girl!
(personal photo)
For a tech tip, here is a Vine I love! road work ahead, ah yeah i sure hope it does
I came to college as a marketing major and after less than a week of pre-calc for business, I KNEW marketing was not for me. Math has never been a strength of mine, but I was still interested in that field so I switched to advertising, which is in the Gaylord College of Journalism. In Gaylord, you are required to have a minor to accompany your degree. I have always been interested in religions so I decided to make that my minor, but coming in with so many hours from concurrent enrollment, my advisor told me that I could be a dual degree student by only taking a couple more hours. Why not, it can't hurt to have two degrees, I thought.
Then last semester, during my advisement, my advisor noticed that I had taken so many religious studies courses that were HIST course requirement numbers that I was also able to declare a minor in history without any extra courses. So the religious studies degree and history minor kind of just fell into my lap. But I am so glad that they did.
Over this past year I have realized I am not as interested in advertising, or good at it, as I had hoped to be. I found myself enjoying my religious studies and history classes much more and after a lot of thinking this past semester, I have decided to try to pursue a job as an English teacher overseas once graduation rolls around. Once a week I go to Oklahoma City and tutor and observe a class of adult students who are native Spanish speakers hoping to improve their English language skills. I really enjoy it and hope I can have a classroom of my own this time next year. I will be spending a lot of time this semester looking for a job overseas, so fingers crossed that it works out!
While I really want to find a job, I will miss my dog if it works out. Her name is Pookie, and she is a 14 year old Bichon Frise. I am an only child, so she has been like my sibling since I was 8 years old. Here are some pictures of her eating the cookies (treats) that Santa left behind! And then looking at me, like "where are the rest?!" She is spoiled, but she sure is cute.
(personal photo)
(personal photo)
For a tech tip, here is a Vine I love! road work ahead, ah yeah i sure hope it does
I am always so excited when I meet future teachers, Blake: how wonderful! The world NEEDS teachers. I started out teaching languages before I ended up teaching these Gen. Ed. Humanities classes... and I will confess that I really miss teaching languages. When you are working with people on actual language learning, you are at the heart of everything: language is the ultimate magic! I hope this class can be a chance for you to continue your religious studies education while also getting a chance to think about education in general; it seems to me that online classes provide a perfect chance for "meta-learning" where people can pause and reflect on the experience of learning, looking back on their digital trail so that you are learning-about-learning if you see what I mean (I know that is very true for me as a teacher; I really like how being online encourages more reflection than the classroom does, where everything is always in such a hurry).
ReplyDeleteAnd your Pookie is so cute! Maybe she will make an appearance in some story that you tell this semester. In the Indian Epics, there is a pivotal scene where King Yudhishthira encounters a dog in mysterious circumstances, and it turns out to be a spiritual test. You'll see that famous dog as you get to the end of the Mahabharata in Week 7. As a preview, here's one Indian artist's rendering :-)
Yudhishthira and the dog
I agree that language is at the heart of everything! I also think this will be a great opportunity to learn in a religious studies realm (I'm not well versed in any religions outside of the Abrahamic ones, sadly) as well as education since we have chances to work on our growth mindset.
DeleteAnd thanks for sharing that story, I'll be looking forward to it. I LOVE animals!
Blake, it is cool to hear about your story of finding your way to your career goals! I think that life seems to play itself out the way it is intended, so it's awesome that you have let life take its course! Studying abroad is also a great opportunity. Hope that you have a great time and that you find an awesome job after graduation!
DeleteBlake,
ReplyDeleteI totally know how you feel when it comes to explaining your major to people. I'm in the same boat, the planned program can be a hassle to explain. I also came int OU with an idea of what I wanted to do that has somewhat spun itself into all sorts of directions. We also have some teaching experience in common between us. I spent this past fall teaching low brass at Norman High. I hope you find the job you are looking for!
Hi Blake! Congratulations on graduating soon, it’s so exciting that you’re a senior! That’s really cool that your major and minor worked out like that. Wow, that is amazing that you want to be an English teacher overseas! I admire your aspirations and I wish you a lot of luck on finding a job. Your dog is soooo adorable! Ever since I started school at OU, I don’t see my dog as often and it’s super sad.
ReplyDeleteHi Blake! I had no idea you were in this class either until you commented on one of my blog posts! I had no idea that you wanted to teach. I knew you were a religious studies and ad major but I'm glad you found something that you want to do. Like always I love seeing pictures of dogs and your dog is the cutest.
ReplyDeleteHi Blake!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that you have found your calling and figured out what makes you happy! The fact that you go and help tutor native Spanish speakers is admirable. The impact that you have on their live is something you probably might not think of often, but as the daughter of an employer who has only spanish-speaking employees I know. My dad's employees have a language barrier and they try, but the barrier somehow always persists, but with my background in Spanish I have been able to help them out and it melts my heart at seeing their gratitude. Not only that, my parents have had a similar problem since their move from India, but they say the barrier gets smaller after a few decades. Also, very impressive that you took so many classes that you ended with a minor in History! I look forward to reading your stories!
- Mansi Patel
Hey Blake, congrats on being a senior. I am also graduating in May and am so excited it has been hard for me to focus on my classes. I made the mistake of taking all of my fun major courses when I was a sophomore and junior so now I am stuck taking introduction classes I should already have like MATH 1523. Like you I am not a big fan of math courses but I keep telling myself this is the only and last math course I will need. I think it is amazing that you are perusing being an English teacher overseas. Not only will you be helping teach students but you will get to travel and live in another country. Good luck on your last semester and finding a job overseas.
ReplyDeleteBlake, we graduate in May! Exciting times but also I am with you in the fact that we do not know yet what will happen in May. I am loving your involvement with so many different activities. The one that stuck out to me the most is tutoring spanish speakers in Oklahoma City once a week. I genuinely think that is such meaningful way to spend your time and I'm encouraged seeing you enjoy it. I think there is great need to English teachers abroad, and that would such a fun career as well. Hope you enjoy this class! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBlake, I have almost the exact same college track as you. I started as a marketing major and switched to advertising! Crazy! I know you're not as interested in advertising as you thought you were, but I'm glad you eventually found what you love. I also took Intro to Religious Studies my freshman year and loved it, so I can imagine it's a cool major to have! Good luck on graduating in May! P.S. that vine at the end is one of my favorite vines
ReplyDeleteHi Blake!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love dogs and Vines so I really enjoyed reading your introduction! I'm the Public Relations Director for Lindsey + Asp, the student advertising and public relations agency so I know a lot about advertising as well. Hope you're watching the Super Bowl (to see the ads of course). I've always wanted a Bichon Frise and my parents said that would be my graduation gift so fingers crossed they keep that promise!
Hi Blake! My name is Brandon Dyson. I thinks it is so cool how you majors came together the way they did. I also changed my major and it was a great decision for me. I also like that you have figured out that maybe you do not want to do any advertising and that you want to be a teacher. I think it is awesome when people find their true passion no matter what there major or degrees is. Have a great semester!!
ReplyDeleteHi Blake! Your majors and minor seem really interesting! Congratulations on making it to the finish line! Did you study various religions? If so, which one was the most intriguing? I took a World Religions class and I absolutely loved it! There is so much insight within each religion that I find fascinating. I think it is really cool that you want to become a teacher overseas. I watched your vine, it was hilarious. I feel like with your career goal, you will be able to help a lot of people! Best of luck with everything and I can't wait to read your stories!
ReplyDeleteHi Blake! It's so awesome that the advisers here at OU were able to point out that you were able to apply your coursework more efficiently. I've noticed they are pretty good about that here which is really nice. I hope you can find a job overseas that sounds really exciting, but I understand how hard it would be to leave such an adorable pup. I'm a total sucker for dogs, so I'm really glad you included pictures of her! Good luck with the job hunt and congrats on graduating!
ReplyDeleteHey Blake. It sounds like you've had to do a lot of soul searching to find what you really want to do in life! I'm glad you ended up finding something you like, and it's really impressive that you were able to figure all this out without just dying in school. I know college is hard enough for me and I have been on the same course the whole time. Pookie is adorable, and dogs deserve to be spoiled, so make sure to give her an extra Christmas cookie for me this year.
ReplyDeleteHi Blake, that’s quite the story. I am glad that your degrees have kind of fallen into place. I had a mentor that taught for 10 years overseas as an English teacher, and last I heard, he really missed it. It’s a pretty fulfilling route to take in life, and you may never want to leave it. Best of luck to you!
ReplyDeleteHello Blake. When reading your majors, they really did seem like some odd pairings. However, I understand that what you think you like isn’t always what you’ll end up doing. I’m glad that you found something you wish to do upon graduation. Also, early congratulations on graduation. I wish you luck on getting the job that you want and hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteHi Blake, it is nice to meet you! I think it was meant to be that the religious studies major and the history minor fell in your lap because those became your true interests! It is refreshing to hear that you want to become a teacher because we are in need of passionate and excited teachers. It is so neat to read that you help Spanish speaking adults improve on their English - that is extremely generous of you and I just wanted to thank you for doing that!
ReplyDeleteHi Blake!
ReplyDeleteI have a close friend who is teaching English in South Korea right now, and he has never been happier! In your search for a country overseas to teach at, I recommend checking out programs in South Korea. Considering all of the amazing things my friend has told me about his experience, there's no way you wouldn't love it too!
My fiance, David, is an only child. When he was seven years old, his family got a golden retriever, Hope. The bond those two had (she recently passed, as a happy and healthy but very old pup) was unbreakable! Your dog is so adorable, and I can only imagine how much you care for her! That kind of relationship, even though it's an animal, is priceless and precious.
I wish you luck in your endeavors!
Britt
Hi Blake! I love that you have pictures of your dog at the end. One of my favorite things about your dog is the way that he looked up and posed for the camera! It is so cool! Also, I really appreciate how you are planning on being a teacher overseas! I think that the field of educating and teaching is so important and you have an amazing opportunity to impact the lives of others! I really look forward to reading some of your stories!
ReplyDeleteHey Blake! That's awesome that you want to be a teacher. That is what I am also interested in, although I am not sure yet! I really like your idea of being an English teacher overseas. What company/ route are you taking to do that? I have looked into myself but I am not sure how to do it! But with your religious studies background, I am very interested to see how you write your stories as I am sure you will have some great insight to the archetypes we see in Indian Epics.
ReplyDelete