The Everything Major: In Defense of Communications by Kelly Myers

I love a good everything bagel. In my experienced opinion, they are the most versatile flavor in the world of breakfast breads. Whether smeared with veggie, lox, or plain cream cheese, you can never go wrong with the timelessly savory taste of the everything bagel.

What draws me to the everything bagel happens to be similar to what draws me to my beloved major: Communications. My major is often viewed as stereotypically “insubstantial” and so unfocused that nothing can be achieved with it post-graduation. However, upon my arrival at Delaware, I immediately fell in love with communications, for I found it to be everything that is starkly substantive and focused. Communications here is intense, well-rounded, and highly competitive, which is hardly what anyone expects from it. Whenever I tell any new friend that I am studying communications, I am, without fail, met with the age-old question of “oh, so what are you going to do with that?” Frequently intonated as a curiosity, I know this question to be nothing more than a thinly veiled (albeit usually accidental) criticism from someone who knows that are going to specifically molecularly engineer new limbs for amputees or start the next greatest investment firm. I don’t blame the science or business majors; I blame the “Communications Stigma.”

When asked what I plan for my Communications future, the best and easiest answer to give is “everything.” With a degree in communications, I can go into sales, marketing, advertising, business (whether big or small), media design, art, politics, law, or all of the above. Communications, as opposed a business or art major, is a way to come out of graduation with a large amount of experience in what seems like multiple different majors, because I can’t seem to choose just one. Much like my everything bagel, there are many different flavors and options in our personalized experience, so that we can come out of college with any and all experience needed for a particular “niche” career. We have the ability to tailor our education to whatever we are interested in, from business to design, without compromising the wholeness of a thorough education.

Again, I don’t blame anyone who is clueless to all my major entails; communications majors are often the metaphorical “stage crew” of a production. For example, an engineer develops a robot, but it must then somehow get to the consumer base that it was engineered for. This is where the communications majors come in. We market the robot, give it a name, set up social media accounts for the engineering company, write press releases and reports, and even handle patents. While most credit goes to the engineering company in the end, communications majors don’t mind, for as they are sitting on the sidelines, they know that both majors involved have performed hard work to get the robot to where it is.

I’ll eat a plain bagel if I have to, or even get fancy with a cinnamon-sugar swirl. However, in the end, I will always go back to the versatility of everything bagels. I prefer freedom to customize my bagel experience, or rather, “Choose My Own Adventure.” This is what makes the communications major the Everything Major. Simply a business, marketing, or art major is perfect for someone who has a specific and “cinnamon-sugar career” in mind, but I am going to need multiple layers of cream cheese to end up with exactly what I want out of my bagel experience.