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Noah Blackney

I was a failing sophomore considering leaving UAB altogether when I took Dr. Welch’s Contemporary Moral Issues class. I had no prior exposure to philosophy and in just a few months it became clear that this was something I could happily do for the rest of my life. In the Fall semester of 2019, I added Philosophy as my primary major, and I’ve never regretted it.

Philosophy has refined the way that I think. Philosophy has given me the tools to think logically and to subject some of my most fundamental beliefs to criticism. I’m more well-rounded as a student and a person because of my exposure to different ways of thinking.

Philosophy hasn’t just shaped my career goals, it created them from nothing. I want to teach philosophy, so that I can inspire that life-altering positive change in others that I experienced in myself. Studying philosophy has given me the drive and ambition to continue my education past undergrad.

Philosophy is unlike any other subject. There are no other fields of study in which you can discuss if a hot dog is a sandwich one day and the meaning of life the next. I would encourage students at UAB to take at least one philosophy class because everyone can find something they’re interested in.