Epitome of the Liberal Arts Experience

When Kayla Morrissey ’18 first came to Grinnell, she thought she was going to be a math teacher. “It turned out differently,” she laughs.

Morrissey’s interests began to expand and change by her second year, when she took an introductory biology class. It piqued her interest in the scientific process, and “from there, I just kept taking science classes.”

Grinnell’s individually advised curriculum allowed her to explore and enjoy a broad range of classes in different sciences. That room to explore was important to Morrissey, as she was beginning to consider career options outside of education. “My second year I thought a little bit more about what I wanted to do, and I was thinking physical therapy for a while,” she says. For physical therapy, “you need everything — physics, biology, and chemistry.”

While Morrissey might have been forced to narrow her focus at another institution, Grinnell gave her another path — the general science major. “I think that the general science major allows you to be a little bit more flexible with your interests and to take a diverse range of classes that you might be more excited about,” Morrissey says. 

The idea of going into physical therapy was inspired by Morrissey’s other passion — sports. She played for Grinnell’s basketball and softball teams all four years, and “it was a pretty big part of my life at Grinnell and throughout high school,” she says. 

The switch from math to general science gave her the perfect path to align her interest in science and athletics. She also chose to concentrate in statistics to help inform her science classes.

In the fall semester of her final year at Grinnell, Morrissey took on a project that brought together her interests in research, math, and athletics. With Elizabeth Queathem, a lecturer in biology who studies human exercise, Morrissey devised a Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) exploring whether people exercise differently in different environments. 

Now, Morrissey has graduated with honors and been accepted to a graduate school program in business and athletic administration at the University of Nebraska. She’s hoping to go on to coach at the college level with the goal of eventually working her way to athletic administration. 

“My statistics background and the diversity of being a general science major definitely helped to set me apart from other applicants to the program,” says Morrissey. “General science is kind of the epitome of the liberal arts experience.”