My life as a philosophy major began when my Intro to Philosophy professor, Dr. Brynn Welch, invited our class to a Philosophy Club meeting. And under the temptation of free Insomnia Cookies at this event, I showed up to this meeting. At the time, I was just an English student with no intention of continuing philosophy. Even though I liked Intro and was doing well in it, I wasn’t sure how it was going to help me in my future goals. That is until Dr. Welch and my advisor David Sellers approached me in the room after the meeting and “highly suggested” to take on the major so I could earn enough credits to graduate.

Since making arguably one of the best decisions in my collegiate career, I’ve enjoyed many courses and lessons in the Department, such as Metaphysics, Ethical Theory, Education and Justice, etc. Philosophy has helped me to not only think critically about social policy and people’s ideologies, but to also conceive of potential tangible solutions to some of the major issues facing the world today. It’s also taught me how hard it is to find rational and fair solutions for a not-so-rational society and the unfairness of life. UAB in particular has a great ethics track, to which I would not know as much about oppression and social justice as I do now had it not been for those courses.

I encourage students to choose philosophy for its own right, but it’s also a major that links well to every discipline. There is nothing I have learned in philosophy that does not assist or enhance my learning of Literature or African-American Studies. And though I plan for a career as a literary scholar, philosophy will always be a discipline I rely on in my future career.