Mary Hansen

Last Friday we had yet another speaker come in and talk to us about how we should decide what to do with our lives. What I found interesting about Mary Hansen’s approach to her presentation was that it was very informal and casual which I was a fan of. Multiple times, she would say what she could talk about, but further stressed the idea that she wanted to conform the discussion to what would be most helpful for us. I guess it was for this reason that her talk began to merge with something resembling a macroeconomics course. While this was to answer a student’s question, it was distracting for me as I spent the whole time wondering how this related back to our earlier discussions of doing what you love to do as a profession. This divergence simply showed me that she is living proof of that and that she loves teaches economics so much that at any time she is willing to give a brief lesson.


For me, Mary Hansen’s discussion didn’t inspire too much with new ideas that will help my undecided self any further than have the other speakers so far. This may be because I’ve already accepted the fact that I don’t know what I want to do with my life and that I’m ok with that at this point. This is probably because my parents support this fact at this point and encourage me to just explore everything at this stage of my college career. The main points that Mary Hansen stressed were to do something you love, explore your options in college now while you can, and that you learn something about yourself and your likes and dislikes at the conclusion of every course you take. However, for me this was knowledge I already had coming into college. Therefore, this presentation didn’t do a whole lot for me especially following the other speakers we’ve had in class. Nonetheless, I value her advice and find comfort in the fact that she is successful and happy in her career which proves that not knowing what I want to do at this stage in my life can lead to achievement and contentment as well.