The Four Life-Changing Paths of Liberal Arts Graduates
Last year while writing a white paper celebrating the liberal arts, I recalled conversations with many students and graduates who told me how Cornell College changed their lives. Or, as I like to say, how Cornell College provided them with the tools to change their own lives.
Cornell students develop a broad foundation of knowledge and hone vital skills related to inquiry, critical thinking, and ethical decision making. They learn to try, and they learn to persist. They learn to work together.
The transformative power of a Cornell liberal arts education works across many types of career journeys taken by our alumni. I have pinpointed four basic paths our alumni take in life. What follows are stories of those four pathways, each told in a Cornellian’s own words. These stories reveal—in honest and personal ways—precisely why the 21st century needs the liberal arts, and why we should be celebrating what Cornell College helps our students accomplish as liberally educated citizens.
The Path of Prepared Uncertainty
The Path of Evolving Crystal Clarity
The Path of Continuous Self-Defined Happiness
Web Extra: Read President Brand’s entire white paper, “The Four Life-Changing Paths of Liberal Arts Graduates”
