What I Did With My Philosophy Major
Sep 10, 2019
For those with the notion that philosophy majors are destined to a bookish life of eternal reflection and classroom discussion, we present Xavier grad Matt Kearns and the true story of one young man’s philosophical progress in the world.
From Boston to Cincinnati by way of Chicago
“I’m originally from Boston and applied to around 17 colleges, but I thought Xavier was right in my wheel-house. I had originally put my deposit down to go to Loyola, Chicago. The day after I did that, I drove in the middle of the night to Xavier, just to make sure I wasn’t making a mistake. Then, I got to Xavier and thought…ah, maybe I made a mistake. So, I went to Xavier.”
A Very Down-to-Earth Reason to Major in Philosophy
“Early in my first year, I was undecided. I was at an orientation meeting. As we were leaving, I met a girl and she was telling me about her major. Then she asked me, ‘What’s your major?’ I just lied; I said it was philosophy. I thought it was really cool, and I wanted to be impressive. Then, I decided, I should stop pretending and really do it.”
A Philosopher in the Family
“My dad’s currently a cop and had a security business that my mom helped run, so they were a bit apprehensive about my choice. I’ve done some pretty strange stuff my whole life, so they’ve learned to roll with the punches. They’re great philosophers without ever studying philosophy. That’s who they are.”
Taking After One Grandfather
“My grandfather, on my mother's side, was in love with philosophy and had a bunch of Aristotle and other classical philosophy books. He was probably the man I aspired to be like so he could be the ‘philosopher in the family’ if you like. After he died, in January of my freshman year, my mom worked with her siblings to secure most of his philosophy collection that I still have today.”
Major Developments
“In my first semester, I took Ethics and Introduction to Philosophy with Professor Strevell, who was amazing. The very next semester I took Theory of Knowledge with Professor Quinn, who is now the chair of the department and hands-down the greatest philosophy professor I could have encountered. In his comments to one of my assignments, he wrote, ‘This is a really good paper. You should think of becoming a philosophy major.’ That cemented it for me. “
Fate (in the form of volleyball) Intervenes
“I was on the varsity volleyball team in high school and immediately signed up to play on the club team when I came to Xavier. I also went to all the Xavier women’s varsity volleyball games. On their senior night, they announced that one guy I always saw on the bench, Kevin Prendergast, was leaving. His job title was Technical Advisor. From Kevin, I learned about a computer program called Data Volley. You type in everything that happens during a game, and from that data, you can come up with high-level stats for game strategy. It was like Money Ball for volleyball. That was the fall of my first year. I became a philosophy major with a volleyball strategist minor.
To Graduate School and Beyond
“I didn’t know it at the time, but Kevin Prendergast was one of the best in the world at the Data Volley program. Then, I realized there were a lot of volleyball programs in the country that would love to have someone who had been taught by him. I’m now in graduate school at Northern Kentucky University, majoring in communications and working as an assistant coach for women’s volleyball. “
Still Philosophical After All These Years
“I think philosophy can help you no matter what you want to do. In philosophy, you’re trained to ask the right questions. In volleyball, you don’t realize how important that is. So instead of just repeating things you’ve heard coaches say for the past ten years that sound right, why don’t we study why things happen? The solution might not be in desire or motivation, but in mechanics. “
And Now Taking after His Other Grandfather
“I’m certain philosophy will help me in wherever my career tracks. But my dad is a bit more