College Major Quiz by Kimira Harp

There are plenty of kids in college who scramble through different majors each semester/year. If you are one of these kids, or an undecided major, I suggest you find out who you are. What do you like? What don't you like? Sometimes it helps to just put yourself in an empty, quiet place and THINK. Evaluate and assess yourself, and post your results somewhere visible in your dorm room. Sometimes we need some additional help. This I where College Major Quiz comes into place. Try checking out this quiz and once you get your results, learn from them! You never know, you might discover that you possess the characteristics of a physician, or maybe even a lawyer. Good luck!

Scenic Painting Processes by Brandon Barker

Scenic painting is a huge part of a Scenic Designer’s job. A Scenic Designer has to put much thought and research into choosing the right colors for their set. After they’ve chosen how they want their set to look, a Paint Charge (PC) comes in and figures out how to paint it. The PC has to figure out what kind of paint to use, how to make the colors, and what techniques to use. Then, the PC has to communicate to the paint crew how to do what needs to be done. A lot of work goes into painting a set or drop. There are even separate processes for painting on wood and painting fabric. I found a very comprehensive article that talks about the process of painting a drop/fabric here. I thought this article was very helpful and informative, especially because I have a special interest in scenic painting. I hope the article sparks an interest in you too!

Me painting the "Pirate Theme Park" drop for Dora LIVE! Dora's Pirate Adventure (March 2013)

What’s the Difference Between Horticulture and Other Plant Sciences? by Lucy Liu

We all know that horticulture is a major that works on the study of plants. The students in this field are required to study all the facts and characteristics of plants. That’s pretty much what we could learn from plant biology or some other kinds of botany classes. So how is horticulture different from other plant sciences?  First of all, horticulturists are like engineers that make a living by their knowledge about cultivating plants. It contains not only the study of plants, but biology, chemistry, genetics, designing, and even psychology in this field. Also, horticulture includes intensive production which mean it has more inputs than other plant science. Other than that, the study of horticulture can make the land area has higher value per unit. That can bring benefit for both farmers and their crops. And finally, in this field, timing of the production is critical. For example, people need a big amount of fresh rose on the valentine’s day. however, as we all know, plants are highly perishable, so in horticulture, we often use fresh rather than processed.

Horticulture focus on the cultivated plants which is different from botany. If you have the interest in study for plants but not sure which way to choose, try to take some basic classes for both of the fields and the these would help you no matter what’s your future decision and at the same time, you will know your preference more clearly.

Narrowing Down Your Majors by Bridget Spagnuolo

            Freshman year of college is an exciting time- living on your own, meeting new people, and most importantly, figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life. The fear of not finding a major that is right for you can be overwhelming at times, which is why it is important to start narrowing down your options. The best way to start this is by cutting out the things that you absolutely hate. For instance, if you hate math and struggle in the courses, then engineering is probably not the field for you. In my case, I have never really liked the sciences much. I always struggled to understand the concepts of biology and chemistry. Consequently, I decided that any pre-med majors were not for me. Another big step to narrowing down majors is to keep in mind what kind of things you want in the social and family aspect of your life. For example, if you want a big family, then a career that involves long hours or a lot of traveling may not be ideal for your lifestyle. Finally, the most important thing to keep in mind when looking for a major is to do something that will make you happy. A high paying job is not worth the money if it means a week full of miserable days. In the end, there is a world full of thousands of careers and you are bound to find the one that fits you best.