By Cheryl Mattox Berry
My niece, who attends college in Tennessee, called the other day. We hadn’t spoken in a while, and I was glad to hear her voice. However, I immediately detected something was wrong. Her charming, Southern lilt was flat and sad.
I wondered if it was boy trouble, an argument with her parents (her dad is my brother) or health-related. After exchanging pleasantries, I asked how classes were going. That’s when she poured out her heart to me. Her advisor told her she should change her major from chemistry to something easier because she hadn’t done well in organic chemistry and wouldn’t be able to get into dental school with poor grades.
She was crestfallen. I was livid. I couldn’t believe this was happening to a family member – again.
I asked if she believed that she could do it, and she answered yes. She explained that chemistry started to click for her at the end of the semester, and she plans to retake the class to get a better grade.
My advice: Continue to pursue your dream, get another advisor and find a mentor in the chemistry department. Her current advisor won’t be helpful anymore because he’s already written her off. How shortsighted and biased.
No one can tell you what you’re capable of doing. That advisor knows nothing about her except the grades he sees on a piece of paper. He doesn’t know her work ethnic or gene pool. She comes from a long line of hardworking, strong-willed, intelligent women and men. We’re used to overcoming obstacles and finding success.
Sadly, we’re also used to people questioning our ability and trying to discourage us.
My brother’s high school counselor advised him to attend vocational school because she didn’t think his GPA was good enough for a four-year school. I told him to ignore her stupid advice and apply wherever he wanted to go. He graduated from the University of Memphis and is a much sought-after cosmetics company executive. He has worked at several major companies and traveled the world for high-powered meetings and to roll out new products. He even patented a few.
When I was in grad school, my broadcasting professor doubted I would ever get a job as a TV reporter because of “the cotton in my mouth.” I couldn’t write a letter to him fast enough after I got my first TV job two months after getting my master’s degree in journalism.
There is no doubt in my mind that my niece will do well in chemistry or whatever profession she chooses because she believes in herself. And so should you. That’s what counts, not someone else’s opinion.