Daniel Vader ’09

Hello. Daniel Vader here. When I started my first semester at Goshen, I was an undecided student. I was good at a lot of things and bad at a few, but I had no idea what I wanted to study. At first I thought I might major in physics or maybe start working towards an engineering degree, but then I rediscovered my love for writing and literature while taking a class with one of Goshen’s many amazing professors. Eventually, I decided to major in English and minor in computer science.

You might be scratching your head right now. English and computer science seem like an unlikely combo, don’t they? But since graduation, I have had more opportunities and been to more interesting places than I ever could have imagined my first year of college. I have been to Peru, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso; I have taught English as a foreign language in Chad; and I have worked as a freelance web developer. Then Goshen College hired me as their web content strategist and manager, using both my editorial skills and my programming knowledge to aid digital communication.

But the journey of this undecided student is not over. In order to pursue my passion for health-related social justice, I am now working on my Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at Drexel University.

My point is that you can be undecided in college, combine your interests, have a successful career and love your work. If you are starting your first semester at Goshen College and are “undecided,” I would wish you luck, but I doubt you will need it.