Admittedly, I have never understood why people joke at Art History as a “useless” degree, like it is somehow the epitome of “wasting” an education. At 19, I lacked the language to explain to people why it was a good thing that I was switching my major from International Business to Art History. All I could really articulate was that the IB program wasn’t fun, but sitting in a small room with a whirring slide project filled me with joy and my energy levels are fueled by that kind of joy and satisfaction.

What I know now is that I loved Art History because it was using something I loved (art, history, and learning about human nature) to teach me the important skills that I have used to succeed in life and career. Instead of dry lessons, I was accruing skills in a demonstrably hands-on way, we were just looking at this differently. That’s still how I work today: gather data and approach the puzzle creatively and differently from the typical.