10 Years Later, Reflecting on Lessons Learned at Large Universities

I may have forgotten facts and figures, but what’s stuck with me is the open-mindedness, curiosity, appreciation of diversity, and confidence in my ability to make a valid contribution to society.

I graduated from The University of Texas at Austin ten years ago, bright-eyed and ready to change the world. It just happened to be the pinnacle of economic recession. Still, I was ready to forge my own career path in a unique niche — museum communications. I wanted to combine my BS in Advertising with a Master’s in Museum Studies, to make myself the ideal candidate for a job I’m still working on inventing. I went straight from undergraduate study into graduate school at New York University.

I’ve had the fortune to attend two excellent universities—two of the nation’s largest educational institutions—one public, and one private. Both are situated in cities that value entrepreneurship and creativity. Both are places where students are encouraged to take charge of their lives, seizing opportunity and following curiosity. They are so large, in fact, I feel they are best navigated by self-starters. If you’re not a self-starter, you will be by the end of your time on campus.

I learned a lot at these esteemed institutions. While I studied communications, including the art of understanding audiences, clear copywriting, and perception management, my non-major coursework led to an obsession with surrealism, passion for ancient Egyptian history and British Romantic poetry, French language skills, and deep fascination with evolutionary biology. When I was diving deep into the history and theory of museums, I learned about politics, power relations, changing social norms, and national identity. I didn’t know how all of this would connect at the time, but I surprise myself with how much I use the breadth of knowledge and skills I’ve gained.

Yes, my evolutionary biology comes back to me when I read a science article in the news, my French came back to me when I visited Paris, and my knowledge of ancient Egypt allows me to give interesting museum tours. However, it’s not the coursework that has shaped me as much as the overall multi-disciplinary university experience.

UT Austin and NYU exposed me to dynamic, distinct perspectives. UT may be in my hometown, but when I left my South Austin home for the dorms, I met students from smaller towns, bigger cities, different states and countries. They came to study more than 170 different disciplines. They didn’t think like me, and we didn’t have a shared experience to reference, but we were all excited to embark on our journey as scholars and professionals and to be part of the undeniable, burnt-orange-wearing Longhorn community that is The University of Texas. It was the first time I’d left my little South Austin sphere, where we tend to share culture, beliefs, economic status, and have similar points of reference. Moving to New York City, it was the first time I’d left my hometown. Within my 30-person NYU Museum Studies class alone, I had peers from all over the world. I was the only Texan, one of fifteen or so Americans, and the youngest student. My experiences seemed vastly different from those of my peers. Beyond the Museum Studies program, I met experts in a number of disciplines, not just in adjacent programs such as art and history, but in engineering, business, and law. I was able to follow my research across disciplines and identify applications in different sectors. All of this was incredibly beneficial for me. More beneficial than any curriculum.

Working in collaboration with students who brought different backgrounds and viewpoints to the conversation, I learned the essence of productive democratic discussion. I learned how to listen, how to empathize, how to grow and expand my own worldview. As we worked toward a common goal and contributed different strengths to enhance our final projects, I fostered a deep respect and appreciation for diversity.

Working across disciplines showed me the value of curiosity and the connectedness of the professional world. It gave me confidence to identify needs and gaps and to take agency to resolve those needs and gaps by thinking outside of the confines of a single field. There’s no reason why we can’t apply communications best practices to enhance audience engagement and accessibility in museums, or use museum exhibitions as examples for experiential marketing strategies, and so on.

I think that UT Austin and NYU could give me these experiences because they are so big. There are thousands of faculty experts and students to learn from, and you can chart your own path by working with experts and students in a wide variety of disciplines.

I truly believe that everyone can and should have the opportunity to have a university experience. If we could all get out of our personal bubbles, which are becoming increasingly smaller with social media (We follow people we know, algorithms show us the same things we like over and over again and news from one perspective over and over again. Analytics take our behaviors and turn them into never-ending cycles of the same types of content intended to drive engagement but that actually prevent us from hearing perspectives beyond our own. But that’s another essay.), we can learn that diverse voices and viewpoints help us grow personally and enhance our quality of life as a society. Maybe we would stop arguing about who’s left and who’s right and actually get some work done. Maybe we would realize that every voice, every vote, counts.

My biggest takeaway, looking back now, is a strong sense that we are all in this together—as a local community, as a larger society, as a planet. I learned that my voice is valid, and someone else’s voice is just as valid. While we have different backgrounds and perspectives, we often share similar goals, and our unique viewpoints come together to result in a more beneficial situation for all. What I do, no matter how big or small, impacts others, and vice versa. Sectors and industries are intertwined, nations are intertwined, people are intertwined. Participation is essential. Listening and learning from others is key. The ability to view the big picture is what will change the world.

University is where I learned how to be an open-minded, curious, and concerned citizen that seeks out connections rather than points of difference.

I think, when I talk to my daughter about the importance of higher education, this is what I’ll share with her.