According to IU public degree completion reports, only 72 degrees were issued from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in the 2024-25 academic year. This makes majors within this school some of the least common majors pursued at IUK.
English, for example, is a less common major that falls within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Some might argue more artistic degrees like this one are not “practical,” but for junior Grace Gamblin, it’s about doing what she loves.
She always took an interest in reading and writing though, finding both joy and pride in them.
“I’ve always really loved reading. Even when I was younger and couldn’t read on my own, my family members made sure to read to me before I’d go to bed,” she said. “In high school, I felt the most connected to English in my Language & Literature class, where we learned how to write analysis about whatever text we were reading at the time. I’d felt prouder of a grade than when I got a good score on an essay.”
Eventually, when it came time for Gamblin to pursue higher education, she still didn’t have a clear career path. She chose IU Kokomo mainly because of affordability and proximity to her family but found a pathway that utilized her passions through helpful staff guidance.
“Even though I was undecided, most of the classes I wanted to take were English and music classes, so eventually I became an English major with a music minor. This was all possible through talking with multiple IUK faculty members to figure out what was the best fit for me.”
Now, Gamblin still hasn’t exactly figured out her future career, but she feels she’s heading in the right direction. Her job as a circulation clerk for the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library she feels has positively impacted her during her studies.
This job and her work towards obtaining an English degree have only bolstered to Gamblin that reading and writing is what she loves doing. College is about figuring out your passions and translating that into a career, and that’s exactly what she intends to accomplish.
“Being an English major has reinforced my love for literature . . . and I hope that will help me in deciding on a career once I graduate,” she said. “Honestly, I’m even open to going into a non-English related field, as long as I can continue to incorporate reading and writing into my everyday life.”
