Student Reflection: Trenton Buhr

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05/02/2019 Added

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Trenton Buhr speaks at the College of Arts and Sciences Celebration of Excellence on April 6, 2019. Buhr is a graduating senior majoring in Political Science, Classics and Religious Studies, Classical Languages and Psychology.

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[00:00:00.582](bright piano music)
[00:00:03.130]I recall thinking to myself, in the months and years
[00:00:05.570]before I started school in Lincoln,
[00:00:07.137]that I needed to pursue a major
[00:00:08.850]that lead directly to a career.
[00:00:10.970]And for me, this was architecture.
[00:00:13.200]My biggest fear at the time
[00:00:14.730]was not getting a job directly after college.
[00:00:17.612]This thinking is part of a loud and ongoing debate
[00:00:20.020]in our culture and universities
[00:00:21.540]over the value of liberal and practical arts.
[00:00:24.900]As you can see from my array of social sciences,
[00:00:27.155]and humanities majors,
[00:00:28.900]I didn't stay in the architecture school for very long.
[00:00:30.778](audience laughs)
[00:00:32.000]Nevertheless, I still struggled
[00:00:33.440]with how I could build a career
[00:00:34.960]from my studies and experiences.
[00:00:38.070]Although these majors exemplify
[00:00:39.690]what interests me in an academic setting,
[00:00:41.951]they're not ends for me,
[00:00:43.500]but more of a means to my larger goals.
[00:00:46.830]And like formal education is for most people,
[00:00:48.740]it was this knowledge that I wanted to apply
[00:00:50.480]in another setting to solve problems.
[00:00:53.080]The more challenging aspect for me,
[00:00:54.840]was finding something that I cared about
[00:00:56.370]to use this knowledge on, and commit to that path.
[00:00:59.840]Well it now seems obvious to me, it was not always the case.
[00:01:03.260]My real passion lies in helping rural communities
[00:01:06.020]of Nebraska, and the Midwest.
[00:01:08.110]I know way too much about Nebraska towns.
[00:01:09.860]I've been to hundreds of them.
[00:01:11.070]If you're from a small town,
[00:01:12.180]I probably know where it is, if I haven't been there.
[00:01:14.600]But the question continued to bug me for years,
[00:01:16.670]what do my majors and interests in the legal field
[00:01:19.460]have to do with this at all.
[00:01:22.070]For most of my college career I searched for the connection.
[00:01:25.350]I'd engage with student government,
[00:01:27.070]tried out Model United Nations,
[00:01:28.580]and conducted extensive research
[00:01:29.930]in the law and psychology lab.
[00:01:31.700]Outside of the university, I was a page in the legislature,
[00:01:34.230]and an intern at the Nebraska Attorney General's office.
[00:01:37.100]And my experiences within the legal system
[00:01:39.101]have been pretty diverse,
[00:01:40.470]and I definitely enjoyed all of them,
[00:01:42.380]but none of them really spoke to me,
[00:01:43.570]and I never felt like I could commit to them for a career.
[00:01:46.520]But luckily a big break would eventually come,
[00:01:48.830]and this came after my junior year,
[00:01:50.600]where I spent the summer in Red Cloud, Nebraska,
[00:01:52.900]hometown of Willa Cather,
[00:01:54.450]who's a famous author from Nebraska, if you don't know,
[00:01:56.710]and who also happened to graduate
[00:01:57.740]from this college 125 years ago.
[00:02:00.480]While there, I was tasked with working on
[00:02:02.530]an economic development plan for the city,
[00:02:04.890]using certain tax and lending incentives.
[00:02:07.540]In those few months, it became obvious
[00:02:09.380]that law had an impact on rural communities.
[00:02:11.850]But what's more surprising is how frequently
[00:02:13.610]all of my majors inform my decisions.
[00:02:15.900]Psychological theories about social influence
[00:02:17.920]and interpersonal interaction became extremely important
[00:02:20.390]when hosting town meetings,
[00:02:21.380]and meeting with local constituents.
[00:02:23.676]What I didn't expect to find at all
[00:02:25.230]was reoccurring historical themes
[00:02:27.040]from my classical education,
[00:02:28.510]like how wealthy people buy up huge swathes of land,
[00:02:31.120]and rent it out to people,
[00:02:32.300]like corporate farming from 500 BC.
[00:02:35.430]More broadly, I was able to find ways
[00:02:37.240]that problems were solved by others in the past,
[00:02:39.180]and help inform the options we have today.
[00:02:42.230]And after that summer, it now seems obvious to me,
[00:02:44.180]how my education can benefit rural communities.
[00:02:47.520]So, my question had finally been answered.
[00:02:50.530]People with backgrounds in political science, classics,
[00:02:52.940]and psychology, usually don't fit the stereotypical mold
[00:02:55.940]of a rural American.
[00:02:57.610]In the land of agriculture, I often do feel out of place,
[00:03:00.530]but I don't feel useless.
[00:03:02.500]In fact, I think my background adds valuable diversity
[00:03:05.220]to the places that I care about so much.
[00:03:08.062]If you put my single story in the context
[00:03:10.560]of the larger debate about the value of liberal arts,
[00:03:13.110]it sheds light on their worth.
[00:03:14.600]My mentor's classes and experiences
[00:03:16.610]have certainly prepared me to prosper,
[00:03:18.500]and to help the state prosper in the future.
[00:03:21.750]This is not only a testament
[00:03:22.896]of the humanities and social sciences,
[00:03:25.400]but of the university's commitment to students' passions
[00:03:27.910]and to the wellbeing of the state.
[00:03:29.860]So, I wanna thank the college, the university,
[00:03:31.610]my mentors and friends, for what you've given me here,
[00:03:34.090]because I certainly wouldn't be here today without it.
[00:03:35.975](light piano music)
[00:03:37.855](audience applauding)

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