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What is the BIS program?
Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies is a program that allows students to explore two different
areas of interest, rather than just learning a single discipline or major. BIS teaches students to think outside
of the box and use different perspectives to problem solve. Having learned to think like an interdisciplinarian allows me
to look at problems or situations from various lenses in order to find the best solution or most effective way to approach
a situation.
Why I Chose BIS and My Two Concentration Areas?
As a freshman at a very large university,
I was unsure what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Having to chose a major in a field that I could essentially be
working in for a good portion of my future seemed almost impossible. It was not until the end of my sophomore year, when I
was practically forced by the university to declare a major, that I stumbled across the BIS major. I use the word
stumble because I had never heard of a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree until the end of my sophomore year of
college while I was frantically trying to decide on a major. After my friend explained the overall concept of a BIS degree,
it seemed perfect because I was able to study communications as well as business and still obtain one degree.
Communications
is the first concentration I chose because I knew the importance of being able to communication well with others, regardless
of the type of job I would have after college. Communications occurs in every type of relationship: friendships, families,
co-workers, spouses, parents and children, etc. Learning the different ways in which people communicate based on gender, the
type of relationship they are in or how people use nonverbal cues seemed very interesting to me so I decided to pursue my
interest and chose communications as one of my 2 concentrations. I understand how men and women communicate differently and
how important it is to realize our communication differences in order to get along well with one another and maintain a healthy
relationship.
My second concentration area is business. I think it is invaluable to have a background in business and
the BIS concentration allowed me to take classes in all different areas of business: marketing, management, economics, and
finance. I learned the importance of being a good manager and ways to encourage employees to work hard. I learned the importance
of planning a budget and ways to invest money in retirement funds or stocks and bonds. Marketing is such a huge part of so
many businesses and can greatly affect how well or poorly sales are for a business. Having a business background will be beneficial
in any field I enter. After taking these general business classes through my BIS program, I feel I have a good understanding
of the main concepts in business.
As a college student, I was a nanny for a few different families throughout the
4 years. I worked with a boy as little as 2 years old as well as a 17-year-old boy who was mentally retarded, and various
ages in between. The experience of working with children has taught me incredible patience. One of the boys I worked with
full time has a severe learning disability, which demanded continuous one-on-one attention while doing homework. Again, this
helped me learn how to be patient and helped me to realize that everyone learns and thinks differently. I think this was an
important lesson for me to learn because there will probably be many work situations where I have to work in a group and I
will need to be patient with others and understand that everyone operates differently.
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