Why Everyone Should Take At Least One Liberal Arts Course (Yes, Even You)

Why Everyone Should Take At Least One Liberal Arts Course (Yes, Even You)

I’m a huge fan of Kurt Vonnegut. His humor is dry, weird, sometimes crass, but always—somehow—he has something very important to say. This is my best impression of him, sort of, because I, too, have something very important to say:

Everyone should take at least one liberal arts course. It keeps society from turning into a well-dressed pile of agreeable furniture. Fireworks, but during the day. Toast, no butter. Yes, even you are at risk of a butter-less peril. That’s the world you’re signing up for when you pass on the liberal arts.

Now, I realize it may be hard to tell when I’m joking, so I’ll tell you:

For example, the only way to succeed in this life is to sacrifice yourself to the almighty office cubicle and climb the corporate ladder. I’m kidding. 

You cannot make it in the creative world unless you use a pre-existing source of nepotism. Would you, please, my dear neighbor’s second-cousin once removed, grant me a job? I’m kidding. 

If you really want to rebel against your parents, and you aren’t blessed enough to be gay or transgender, go into the arts. I’m not kidding. 

Even a single course in the liberal arts–history, communications, film studies—has the potential to make you more human.

Pursue a degree, or make it an elective. Learn how society works. Or why it doesn’t. Write a terrible poem. No, really, make it awful. Put a dragon in it. If you love it, who cares? Turn it in! Be proud! You will do something invaluable, and that will have been creating something. 

---

But What About the Granite Countertops?

I know, I know. We’re all worried about the starting salary. You want to afford rent and the occasional overpriced matcha latte. You want granite countertops, or at least something that isn’t linoleum. The pressure to become one of the Big Three—lawyer, doctor, engineer—something your aunt can brag about without squinting—is intense. 

But here’s a fun little secret: Most lawyers I know are either burnt-out or angry. No offense, my ambitious little gremlins. I, too, love pain. Just consider taking a class in the arts, and you may find yourself a little bit more at peace. 

What people don’t tell you is that the liberal arts aren’t a dead-end. They’re just a longer walk with a better view. Sure, there’s no signing bonus or branded tote bag waiting outside your final exam, but more importantly, you’ll find meaning.

If you did want to pursue a degree in the liberal arts, and wondered how you might justify the risk, take Howard Schultz, for example. He earned a communications degree from Northern Michigan University and turned a local coffee shop into an empire; Starbucks (Northern Michigan University News, 2024). Or Barack Obama, who majored in political science and somehow managed to become… well, Barack Obama (Britannica, 2025).

“But that’s like, one in a million,” you say.

Fair. So how about something more local? More Richmond.

Even I, a humble student of the liberal arts, can testify: taking a single liberal arts course changed how I think, how I speak, and how I exist (and excel) in a room full of people wearing business casual. Networking events? Less terrifying. Eye contact? Manageable. Small talk? Almost bearable.

I became—against all odds—a person people actually want to talk to.

Overall, studying the liberal arts equips you with social skills, understanding, and empathy that help create connections that lead you to bigger and better opportunities. 

And if you can do that, you’ll turn out just fine.

---

The Swiss Army Knife Degree

While specialized degrees are great for diving deep into a specific field, liberal arts programs help you build the foundation for anything you might want to tackle in the future. Liberal arts courses introduce you to different facets of the same topic, allowing you to get a better idea of what you want and what you’re after. Specialized degrees are like a scalpel. Liberal arts makes you a Swiss Army knife—kitted with a bottle opener and a cute little saw. You don’t just learn how to do a job. The liberal arts teach you how to think, adapt, and solve problems creatively. In a world that’s always changing, that’s invaluable, and all employers are looking for. 

Don’t believe me? Then get a Richmond student opinion; you get a student opinion, you get a student opinion, we all get student opinions!

→ TikTok – Endless Careers! @richmondunilnd

→ TikTok – Understanding Liberal Arts! @richmondunilnd

→Facebook – What Does Liberal Arts Mean to You? @Prospects

As Richmond students, the liberal arts program isn’t just about vague “thinking skills.” It’s designed to set us up for success in the most effective way possible. “Oh god, here comes the sell-out,” shhh, stick with me, stick with me. It’s structured around seven thoughtfully designed core courses that build your ability to reason, analyze, argue, and connect. Each course builds thoughtfully on the last, creating a comprehensive curriculum that strengthens your foundation and prepares you for the hands-on experiences you’ll encounter in your third year:

“A liberal arts education empowers students to solve problems, adapt, and collaborate. It also prepares students to become the types of employees organisations want to hire. But a liberal arts education doesn’t just provide great employability. It also enhances students’ personal and social development, providing them with self-confidence, self-understanding and a sense of social responsibility.”

• Richmond’s Liberal Arts Page

So, yes, your dream job is still in reach. But so is protecting your soul. 

---

The Case for Empathy

Liberal art disciplines are people-based—explorative, engaging, complex, and emotional. They make you listen. They encourage nuance. They encourage people to act not just for themselves, but for the collective good. Without empathy, the world would be far less tolerant, and social progress would be stunted.

Now, if your proud, blue-collared father asks if liberal arts lead to higher salaries, avoid eye contact and hide your sustainability project. The answer is no, I’m sorry.  

However, what is true—and what you can know deep down for yourself—is that it does make you a better person. Discovering the complexities of politics, understanding the profound impacts on religion, or learning how to create an entirely new world that captures the attention of your reader contribute to a better you, and as a consequence, a better world around you.

You won’t receive the same look of wonder a law student gets when they say, “I’m studying medicine,” to a room full of grandparents. But you will create wonder, and that’s worth more than a stamp of approval. 

---

Final Words (And Guess What—I Wrote a Poem)

Take a liberal arts class. Even just one. If law or medicine or engineering is your jam, great. But along the way, take a class about the classics. Learn about the textiles used in African garments versus European. It’ll keep your head on straight, and continue creating the thoughts and ideas that saves us from ourselves. 

You know you can do it. 

Love,

A Liberal Arts Student 

—

I carry it heavy in my chest,

the need to make, to show, to discover.

Not for praise, but for the breath it gives me.

This is the work: to feel, and to be felt.

They ask what I’ll do with it—

but I’m already doing it.

*

---

Work Cited

Britannica. “Barack Obama.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 21 June 2025, Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Northern Michigan University News. “Schultz Family Foundation Announces $1 Million Gift to NMU.” Northern Today, 20 Nov. 2024, Northern Michigan University.