By a Financial Information & Analysis and Business & Data Analytics Double Major

Hi, I am Christian Perrine, a junior, double majoring in Financial Information Analysis (FIA) and Business Intelligence and Data Analytics (BIDA). I’m from East Brunswick, New Jersey, and I chose to come to Clarkson University because it offered the best balance between academics, athletics, and other extracurricular activities, and the pace of everything just seemed to fit what I needed and wanted in college. For me, Clarkson was just a perfect match. 

How and Why I Chose My Majors

I chose to double major because I was already planning to major in finance, and then I got to school and I started to do a little more research about the BIDA major, and it kind of hit me that it was also something I really enjoyed. After I spoke with my advisors and learned how easy it is to work a double major into your timeline and coursework at Clarkson, it was a no-brainer. I figured I am at school, so why not learn as much as I can while I am here. So I picked up an extra class each semester and the rest is history.

The structure of Financial Information & Analysis is exactly what I wanted. My favorite thing about my major is the real interest I have in learning about finance. I am also really enjoying learning about how the structure of a company works and how they structure their finances. When you can observe and analyze how a company works, you can gain so much understanding about the choices they make as a business. 

By understanding how a company invests its money and manages its finances I get to see how companies work and where they are directing their efforts. I find this topic and the conversations that come up in our classes to be really interesting, and it helps when you are engaged in what you are doing and learning. I’m becoming very passionate about this! 

A Support System on Campus

Clarkson is so supportive! From academics to extracurricular activities, you have so many opportunities and the support to do your best. The advisors and professors do a phenomenal job supporting their students. The business school has professional advisors for everyone and they help with so much, from planning your courses, and making sure you are staying on track and getting what you want to also provide resources to help you do better in your courses. The advisors at the beginning of the semester and throughout, talk to you about where you can get help tutoring or meeting with them or other resources you might need.  

Having such supportive advisors and professors makes it so much easier to learn. Not only do our professors want us to learn what is relevant to our majors and what will help us further our professional careers and aspirations, they constantly check in to make sure we are all on the same page. Professors, all throughout the semester are always asking how the coursework, the exams, and homework are going.

Throughout the semester they send emails reminding us all of when office hours are and to never be afraid to email or go to office hours, calls, text messages, anything. The coursework can definitely be challenging as we grow and learn new things, and it’s nice to know that by stopping in or scheduling an appointment we can connect with our professors. It really is that easy to connect with them outside the classroom.  

Almost all my professors encourage students to attend office hours whenever they have questions about material learned in class, projects, exams, or even just the information in a broader sense. 

I’ve also talked to a bunch of my professors regarding upcoming projects, papers, and more, and they are great at just providing feedback on your ideas and extremely beneficial advice that will help improve the overall quality of work you do. It’s always important to take those extra steps when you can, it will definitely help your quality and make you feel less stressed about the projects you are working on for class. 

Faculty Office Hours

Faculty Office Hours is one of the greatest assets a professor has to offer besides the actual teaching of the material itself. In-office hours you get a more personal conversation with the professor and they are able to go into greater detail than they would in class and help you understand the material better. They want you to know the material, like to really understand and be able to apply it outside of class, rather than just memorize and forget in 2 weeks. 

You will find that you can go to almost any professor or advisor and they can almost always point you in the right direction if they don’t know the answer immediately. This can be for a multitude of things, not just coursework. They want to help you succeed, not suffer.

Student Success Center Support

Another great resource is the Student Success Center they are a multi-faceted group of people who can support you from day one with first-year advising, test prep, and also all-around academic support.  There are definitely times when you need someone else to help and give a different perspective than the professors are able to provide and that’s when the tutoring program is such a great resource. 

Being a Tutor

I currently am a tutor for the introductory accounting courses and I think the way Clarkson runs the tutoring program is really beneficial. Rather than going to professors or other staff, students have the chance to learn from other students and have it explained in a way much more digestible and easier to understand than having the professor lecture or maybe misunderstand the problem since a student can much easier relate to a student. 

There is such a benefit in having the option to go to your professors or go to a tutor who is closer to your peer and both perspectives are valuable in helping students understand the material and make the most of the courses they are taking.

So much of college is learning to balance academics, life in general, and your education. Because of how supportive everyone at Clarkson is you will never be alone when it comes to your academic success. That includes students. As a student tutor, I am happy to help my peers and sometimes even learn from it when I help them. We are all here together to be the best we can be and to prepare for our careers.