When applying and being accepted here at the University of Illinois with a mathematics degree, I intended to become a high school math teacher. After my first semester here, it was clear that while I still enjoy math, it was not my love for math that led me to choose that major, but it was just my interest in working with teens in a school setting. When I began to explore different majors, I kept in mind that I still wanted to work in a high school or do something within that age range. When coming across the HDFS department, I immediately fell in love. I saw how many resources and exciting classes were offered, as well as the many career options it led to. After choosing to stick with HDFS, I started to look at all of the different career options this major has. HDFS has helped me immensely in reaching my career goals as a high school counselor thanks to the curriculum focusing on child and adolescent development and all the resources I have received from our academic advisor, Barbara, and other professors.

Lauren is an HDFS senior with a concentration in Child and Adolescent Development and aspires to become a high school counselor.