When I tell people I’m double majoring in Music and Literatures in English, I usually hear an excited, “Whoa, cool!” followed by a confused, “How does that work?”
I get it; the combination is rare, and upon first glance, the subjects may not seem related at all. But once I tell them that I’ve made a short film with the Performing and Media Arts department, that I adore the narrative and musical aspects (among others, of course) of cinema and games, that I’ve written two narrative-based games, that I’ve interned in Hollywood… it begins to make sense. Perhaps two very different passions might work well together after all.
It is important to note that you don’t need to find the “perfect” career that allows you to contribute with both simultaneously. There are many ways to work with multiple passions — some direct, some more subtle, but all of them useful. To help illustrate such a variance of perspectives, I interviewed three upperclassman Cornellians, each of whom concurrently studies two very different subjects.
🌟 The Intersection of STEM, Social Sciences, and Creativity: Three Cornellian Stories of Divergent Passions
Emily Hurwitz (‘21) studies psychology and music. While she initially intended to keep Music a minor, she ultimately decided to double major because she saw more opportunities to take her desired courses through that route. Furthermore, she says that psychology has provided valuable insight into her music studies.
“Now, in musicology classes, I can better understand where social phenomena come from or why music is meaningful.”
Emily’s ardent scholarship of both subjects has proven beneficial on her venture into their crossover field, music psychology. “I’ve conducted research about how music can make experiences more meaningful and why people use it in their daily lives,” she said. As she plans on going to grad school for music psychology research, her passions here converge to gear her toward her career goal.
Shriya Perati (‘21) studies Literatures in English and Biological Sciences. She applied to Cornell as a Biology major, but was unsure how to incorporate her love for literature and writing into her academics — that is, until a First-Year Writing Seminar Professor encouraged her to delve into it.
After taking a course on Shakespeare and another on creative writing, she decided to commit to a Literatures in English major. However, Shriya does not intend on separating her love for writing from her passion for the medical field, and writing about public health is the perfect crossroads.
“My studies in the Literatures in English major have shaped and will continue to shape my career in medicine,” she said. Even outside of writing as a segue into public health, she sees intersection between her two majors.
“There’s a recently emerged field called the medical humanities, also known as narrative medicine,” she explained. “As our society becomes more reliant on technology and services such as telehealth become more widespread… narrative medicine teaches the rising generation of healthcare practitioners how to listen to patient’s stories.”
Shakespeare and healthcare may not be of such different worlds after all.
In ironic contrast, the fields of physics and music do not seem to meet anywhere. Timothy Eng (‘22) majors in both.
“While ninety-nine percent of the time, my majors don’t directly relate,” he said, “one being in STEM and another being in the arts provides a nice contrast and balance in terms of workload.”
An oboist in the Cornell Symphony Orchestra, Tim is very involved on the musical scene even as he considers pursuing a Master’s in Engineering program. He believes his curriculum combination of STEM and arts leads him to think in a more nuanced manner, especially when it comes to creative problem solving. “Music also gives me a creative perspective when it comes to studying physics,” he said, and pointed out, “A lot of scientists, including physicists, are also musicians.”
📝 Concluding Thoughts
Having a wide range of interests doesn’t mean you are disorganized or can’t prioritize. Instead, you can use it to your advantage as you work on projects and build your future as a creative. Whether that takes you to Hollywood, the laboratory, an office, or Carnegie Hall, exploring your passions will shape and sharpen the way you think, empathize, and problem-solve.
Therefore, no matter how divergent your interests may be, don’t be afraid to dive into them in and out of your academic life. By allowing yourself to venture into different studies, you may use them concurrently in your work, utilize one to express another creatively, and grow.
Euna
CC Writer
Euna is a senior majoring in English and Music in Arts & Sciences. She enjoys storytelling through all different mediums, from cinema to blogs to song to fiction.
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