“So, what are you going to major in?” Cue the facepalm. Just because you know where you want to go to college doesn’t mean you know what you want to study.
Sometimes God leads you to a place and then reveals the plan. That’s what senior Daria Brandt found to be true when she was an undeclared student. “It was a little embarrassing to say I didn’t know what I wanted to study, but I had to trust that God would use me as long as I pursued him.”
Daria knew ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓÆµ Fox was the school for her, and she was confident she’d find a major where she would thrive. Here’s how she tackled her decision:
- She enrolled in a course called CPAS 214: Discover Your Calling, which is taught by the IDEA Center and intended for students who are undecided. She loved getting to hear from the panel of students who answered questions and talked about navigating majors and calling.
- She took general education courses her freshman year for two reasons: You need them to graduate AND they offer a taste of all the majors so she could assess what brought her joy and what didn’t.
- She sought out the opinions of people who knew her well from coaches to teachers to parents to friends.

After spending thoughtful time investigating her options, Daria landed on a psychology major. The professors were a strong draw, and she loved how applicable the field is no matter the profession she lands in someday.
“The concepts that I learned in many of my early psychology classes were things I could apply no matter where I go, what I do or where God calls me,” she says. “The content has been challenging and applicable and Christ-centered.”
She is coupling her major with a ministry minor because of the ways her classes have continually pushed her relationship with God forward, and because they’ve revealed the presence of Christ not only in things that are considered sacred, but in those things considered secular, too.
“Coupling my psychology major with a Christian ministries (theology) minor has helped me to see how Christ works in the world, no matter the setting.”
Looking back on her experience as an undeclared student, Daria wouldn’t change a thing. “ I would actually encourage people to come into college undecided if the y don’t know what they want to major in,” she says. “Don’t just pick a major because it’s the major to pick or it sounds easy. Pick it because God is calling you to it and it brings you life. College reveals what you’re really passionate about!”
Learn More About IDEA Center
Sarah has spent a decade at ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓÆµ Fox -- first as a student and now as an administrator. When she's not at work, she's digging in her garden or on an adventure with her family. Must haves include coffee, fresh flowers, and street tacos.
Related Posts
Student Life
You’ve just finished up your classes for the week and now it's time to feed your soul however you choose to do so. The weekend is a great time to rest and reset or explore all that the Pacific Northwest has to offer!
Athletics
As some sports seasons began to get the green light, the marketing team took three days to get some hype content for each team. Known as "Hype Dayz" in the office, these shoots are modeled after Division I schools and pro teams that have media days to create content for use throughout the year. As a D3 school, it's fun to feel like a D1 athlete.
ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓÆµ
We need Christ-centered education now more than ever. We need thinkers and doers, problem solvers and activators. We need compassionate hearts, willing hands and sharp minds. The world is different now; we need Christlike leaders and learners to invent the future and boldly lead us into it.
Student Life
On April 8, 2022, I made the difficult but much-needed decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal and leave the university I was attending, Utah Valley University. I made the decision for a number of reasons, but the primary reason was I wanted to be at a place where I could feel more comfortable being myself.
Admissions
The year 2020 will forever be remembered for the novel coronavirus that ravaged the world. The details are still a bit unknown, but it is believed that Washington state had the U.S.’s first case on Jan. 20. About five weeks later, Oregon reported its first case, and soon after Gov. Kate Brown announced that schools would close starting Monday, March 16. That was followed by a stay-at-home order on March 23. Students at ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓÆµ Fox went on spring break March 20-27 and were asked not to return to campus for the remainder of the semester.
ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓÆµ
By creating packaging for Portland Rescue Mission’s food service provider, professor Marvin Eans and his students are using their graphic design skills as a vehicle of compassion
Like what you're reading?