In the “How I chose my major” series, we showcase the academic paths CSU students have taken, and students tell their stories in their own words. Read on to meet Victoria, a CSU Family and Consumer Sciences major, and learn how she decided it was the perfect path for her college career and far beyond.
Do you remember the classes in middle and high school that required students to take home a fake baby, learn how to cook, create fashion masterpieces, learn about human relationships, design interior spaces, learn how to pay taxes, and finally understand why you shouldn’t eat a sleeve of Oreos for breakfast? These were sometimes called “home economics” classes. Well, I took all of them! Family and Consumer Sciences classes were some of the classes I took in high school that I’ve been able to apply to the rest of my life.
My freshman year of high school was really when I began my journey to becoming a Family and Consumer Sciences major. I spent my free hours talking to my Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, serving as her assistant, and planning how I would be able to break out of my shell to become a role model like my favorite teachers were to me. I joined a youth leadership and development organization called Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). In that organization, I was able to interact with hundreds of Family and Consumer Sciences teachers, seeing the direct impact their passion for teaching had on their students. My love and appreciation for Family and Consumer Sciences grew exponentially as a result of witnessing those teachers impact their students for the rest of their lives, and I knew the major coupled with CSU’s teaching licensure program was the right path for me.
When researching schools that had Family and Consumer Sciences majors, I was drawn to Colorado State University because of the nationally recognized faculty who led the program. My academic advisor and instructors not only care about the profession, they also care about your success within the field. Colorado State University is also the only school in Colorado that offers a Family and Consumer Sciences major (GO RAMS)!
The past two summers, I had the incredible opportunity to work as the Leadership Intern for FCCLA (Colorado Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America). With that position, I worked with many Family and Consumer Sciences professionals and students from across the United States. This experience, along with my pre-college classes in Family and Consumer Sciences solidified my desire to become a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher. There is no other profession in the world where you get the opportunity to teach middle and high school students how to “adult.” These skills will, in turn, inform their personal and professional development.
I love Family and Consumer Sciences education because I am able to combine all of my interests into one career. I can impact students, their families, and their careers through one field of study. I get to teach, work with amazing teachers, students, and professionals, and develop my skills in all aspects of my life while having a blast doing it! Because of the Family and Consumer Sciences major and the teaching program at CSU, I am well on my way to teaching in a classroom of my own just a few months!
Victoria Connor is a third-year Family and Consumer Sciences major with a certificate in Design Thinking. She is a member of Ram Catholic, the College of Health and Human Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council, Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and she is the president of the Panhellenic Association. In the future, Victoria looks forward to teaching Family and Consumer Sciences classes in middle schools and high schools, working with youth leadership organizations, and promoting education reform.
