The Search
For True Love

College Is a Chance
To Take Risks
And Discover Your Passion

By HARLAN COHEN
SPECIAL TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Valentine’s season has arrived. Love is running wild in the residence halls, in the classrooms, in the cafeterias, in the libraries, and in poorly lit corners on campuses across the country. For those with someone special to spoil—there is no greater time of year. This month, a lucky few might even find their true love, a soulmate, and start looking toward a life after graduation.

This is, in a way, what you’re supposed to do in college—discover a passion that will be with you for the rest of your life. After four years on campus, you might not have a job lined up, or even have qualifications for a particular line of work. But at the least, you should leave with some sense of what it is you really love to do. College is filled with opportunities to discover that passion. It could happen anywhere, or anytime—during orientation week, or during the commencement speech, in Conversational French 201, or waiting for food in the cafeteria. The key is to let it happen, by being willing to explore, change, take risks and follow your heart.

No Chemistry

Erin Nigh thought she had found her passion in seventh grade. More than anything, she wanted to be a doctor. So when she started as a freshman at Indiana University five years later, she set out to do just that, majoring in biology.

But two years into her pre-med program, Erin felt like she was on a blind date gone bad. She and biology didn’t have much chemistry after all. “I hated it,” she recalls.

That’s when Ms. Nigh contemplated what would be the biggest risk of her college career. After two years of taking an intense load of science courses—and doing quite well in them—she wanted to explore other options. She made an appointment with her college adviser and talked about the possibility of pursuing a business degree instead of medicine.

Her adviser urged her not to make the change, but to stick it out in pre-med. After all, she was good at biology and halfway done with her coursework already. Her friends from her pre-med courses didn’t want her to switch either. As for Erin’s parents (her mom is a nurse), they just wanted their daughter to be sure she was making the right decision.

Erin knew she was. “I took a risk after two years and switched my major to business,” she says. “In the end—I’m really happy.”

The secret to taking risks in college is to start slowly. At first, it can be daunting to think about making big changes when you’re just getting used to your surroundings. But understand that taking a risk may end up making you more comfortable in your surroundings, and the more comfortable you can get, the easier it will be to leap into other unfamiliar, uncomfortable situations, and take more risks.

The summer after switching to a more satisfying major, in fact, Erin left the comfort of Bloomington, Ind., and headed off to Spain for a study-abroad program to finish her foreign-language requirement. “That was a big risk,” she recalls. “Where I’m from, a lot of people don’t even go to college. A lot of people [at home] didn’t understand or accept the decision” to go abroad.

But Erin didn’t let others sway her. She kept putting herself out there, taking risks and seeking out new experiences. After coming back from Spain, the next fall, Erin took an internship in Washington, working at Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar’s office. The internship was cut short following the anthrax scares, but she found the whole experience fascinating. And each risk she took, each outside experience she sought gave her confidence to try new things.

Erin didn’t shrink from checking out new extracurricular activities on her own. She approached the introductory meetings with the understanding that “If I don’t like it, I can leave.” But she never left. In some cases, she would end up seeing someone from one of her classes. And if she didn’t see anyone she knew, she’d bring a friend or two along to the next meeting. As a result, a lot of her friends got involved in similar clubs and activities, and they were able to enjoy the experience together.

‘Take the Plunge’

Her advice to incoming students: “Remember you’re not alone—especially as a freshman. No one knows where they are and what is out there. Just take the plunge, knowing that someone else will be there in your position.”

Erin’s risk-taking hasn’t been without a price. As a result of switching majors midstream, she has had to attend school throughout the summer to catch up on required coursework. She has also had to carry a heavy courseload through the school year to stay on schedule to graduate in four years.