Shannon Mockler (right) samples the local wine during her language immersion course in Trier, Germany.

DANVILLE, KY—Shannon Mockler, a senior from Westfield, Ind., didn't think any of the many majors offered at Centre College fit perfectly with her academic interests—so, with the help of faculty advisors, she designed her own major in European studies.

"I’ve known for quite a while that I had a passion for foreign languages, particularly Western European languages," says Mockler, "but I knew I didn't want to be a translator or language teacher. The international relations and economics majors appealed to me, but I knew it would be really hard to complete both of those without giving up my language study."

Combining elements of politics, economics and language, Mockler's academic program not only met the College's liberal arts objectives, but also her own. As part of her self-designed major, Mockler is required to complete upper-level classes in each of several disciplines. She also participated in a seven-week program in German language immersion in Trier, Germany during the summer between her junior and senior year at Centre.

Although Centre offers many traditional majors, self-designed majors allow students the opportunity to customize their education to reflect their individual interests and abilities. A self-designed major includes faculty-approved, self-designed courses and independent study.

Recent majors created by Centre students include design communications, medieval studies, public policy, religion and the performing arts, religion and education, Japanese studies, education and the culture of learning, and physics and metaphysics.

"Here I have the freedom to be academically ambitious and pursue my true interests, instead of being limited by existing majors, abroad programs, and guidelines," says Mockler. "The idea of a self-designed major is not to let a student study half of an economics major and graduate, but instead to give students the ability to expand their course of study into multiple disciplines without the fear of postponing graduation."

Mockler is a member of the Colonel Corps (student volunteers who assist the admission office), treasurer of the German Club, a member and officer of Delta Delta Delta sorority and chief freshman orientation assistant. In the spring she will complete an internship with the admission office translating admission materials into Spanish. Mockler was previously profiled in a Web story on her background racing midget cars in the U.S. Auto Club series.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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