LAURINBURG — Selecting an academic major in college can be a difficult decision. To help undeclared freshmen and sophomores at St. Andrews make the choice, SHIELD held a dinner and information session in early April.

“We wanted to hold a facilitated dinner with faculty so that the undecided students can get the information they need about majors and minors,” said Elise Moore, a senior and founding member of SHIELD.

Created to help students get more involved with the campus, SHIELD stands for Students Helping to Identify and Educate Leadership Dynamics.

“Our goal is to help students succeed in college,” said Elizabeth Hernandez, faculty sponsor of the organization.

The dinner included eleven members of the faculty providing general information about his or her respective academic area, while also being available to answer specific questions from students during the desert reception that followed the dinner.

“I appreciate what SHIELD is doing with this event,” said College President Paul Baldasare. “It is an event to help the student like I was helped as a freshman. I was most concerned with cutting off options and not being able to change my mind. Both of those concerns proved to be unnecessary. Declaring a major is a chance to connect and work more closely with the faculty in a given field, but the choices that are made now are not set in stone.”

Baldasare’s sentiments were echoed throughout the event by other members of the faculty via their own personal journeys through undergraduate and graduate work before finding careers and returning to the classroom.

“I was an accounting major and a Spanish minor,” said Jeff Birdsong, assistant professor of Spanish. “I got a job and enjoyed accounting for 12 years but I got pulled back to Spanish. It is a good idea to write down the jobs you can get from your major and figure out how to build a skill set to get one of the jobs. You can’t be afraid to think outside the box. Your first job will help you determine your marketability. You’ll have to find a job that will pay you, but don’t lose your dream. I didn’t.”

Funding for SHIELD is administered by North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities and originated in a federal grant and support from the Foundation for Independent Higher Education.