Society puts an immense amount of pressure on young adults to figure out what they want to do “when they grow up.” Common questions of juniors and seniors in high school center on where they plan to go to college and what they want to study — both of which imply that young adults should have their next steps perfectly calculated and planned.
Perhaps a better focus should be on who they want to become, suggests Dr. Amber Residori ’93, dean of the College of Professional Studies. She frequently speaks to incoming freshmen and transfer students about spending less time fretting about picking a major and more time considering their inherent talents and abilities and how they might use those gifts to build a purpose-driven life.
“I wish I had a megaphone and permission to walk the hallways of high schools everywhere so I could tell students, ‘You do NOT need to have a major picked before coming to college,’” says Dr. Residori. “Students put a lot of pressure on themselves to have huge life decisions made before they’re even 18 years old. Choosing a career [path] is important … but it is far more important for students — especially as they make college visits — to ask questions and understand how a university will walk beside them, guide them and help lead them through a process of finding their calling than to immediately commit to a major.”
Part of the process of becoming is for students to experiment. Dr. Residori emphasizes that one of the simplest ways to figure out what the best college fit will be is to visit different campus environments.
“You don’t need to have everything figured out,” she says. “You just need to take the next step. Pay attention to how you feel when you’re on a campus, and imagine yourself growing, learning and developing beside the students, professors and staff you meet during your visit.”
It can also be very beneficial to connect with mentors, family members, coaches and friends who appear to be grounded in purposeful careers and volunteer work. Asking questions about their personal journeys can be very enlightening for young adults, but Dr. Residori cautions against idolizing their apparent successes.
“We admire the accomplishments of our role models and often want to capture their unique qualities so that we can emulate their success,” she says. “Ironically, these role models would likely explain that they have not yet fully become. Instead, their unique quality is that they have never quit becoming. They have been mindful to capture valuable life lessons that were embedded within failure and success and within the mundane and the exciting.”
“You see, individuals who have truly become never settle. They stretch themselves so that they are constantly in the process of developing, improving and transforming. One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is ongoing learning, a commitment to stretching and a life filled with intellectual, personal and professional growth.”
Olivet Nazarene University, a liberal arts institution, is committed to guiding students through the growth-filled process of becoming. A liberal arts education offers a comprehensive way of teaching young adults how to think — not what to think — so they become well-rounded individuals. This holistic approach exposes students to an array of academic disciplines like the arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and natural sciences, all of which count toward graduation requirements.
“Employers want to hire individuals who have strong character and can think comprehensively, communicate well, consider alternatives when solving problems and work successfully within a team,” says Dr. Residori. “A liberal arts education provides these skills and prepares students for a lifetime of becoming. We know that college years are a key time in students’ lives when they continue to clarify their values, morals and the lens through which they see the world, so where they attend college and who walks beside them matters immensely.”
Certain jobs and industries require specific educational trainings, licensing and postgraduate degrees, but Dr. Residori suggests that everyone can benefit from educational opportunities that integrate personal development into career preparedness.
“Our students become doctors, social workers, engineers, accountants, pastors and countless other careers while fulfilling dreams they may have imagined since childhood,” she says. “But, more importantly, our students become men and women who lead, who are committed to ongoing growth, and who strive to glorify God as they serve professionally and personally. Becoming is a process, and we are grateful for the privilege of walking beside students as they realize how their unique qualities were designed by God to serve His kingdom and love His people in incredible ways.”
AMBER RESIDORI ’93, Ed.D., is a licensed clinical social worker. She has worked extensively in residential treatment settings with youth and adolescents who struggle with emotional and behavioral disorders. She has a wide range of experience developing new programs, including outpatient therapy, transitional living and acute inpatient psychiatric hospital programs. She previously served at Olivet as a social work professor, as chair of the Department of Social Work and Criminal Justice, and as dean of the School of Life and Health Sciences.
From Olivet The Magazine, The Parent Guide – Autumn 2025. Read the full issue here.
