Penn State alumnus credits Liberal Arts education for graduate school success

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Although Harrison Brennan assumed he would travel farther away to go to college, staying close to home and studying at Penn State was his best decision, he said.

Brennan, who graduated from Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts in 2022 with four degrees in philosophy, economics, international politics and Asian studies, said he wanted to “escape” his small town of DuBois and experience something new.

“In retrospect, I am glad I chose Penn State," Brennan said. "It was the best choice for me. Going there was impactful and led me to where I am today.”

While an economics student at Penn State, the exposure to the various fields within the liberal arts influenced his decision to tack on two more majors — philosophy and international politics. However, as he went through philosophy courses, he realized he wanted more exposure to Eastern philosophies like Buddhism and Hinduism. This realization led to him declaring an additional major in Asian studies.

“There was a lot of overlap, which made things easier,” Brennan said. “The academic advising staff was great and super helpful when making a plan that ensured I completed my four majors in four years.”

Though his original goal was to go to law school, he became more passionate about philosophy and could see himself doing it forever. After graduation, he applied to DePaul University’s graduate program in philosophy in Chicago, Illinois.

“Being in Chicago, it feels like school is just one of the many parts of my life,” Brennan said. “It was challenging at first because I have always thrived in that purely academic environment. However, being here has allowed me to further my academic education, while teaching me even more about the real world and what it is like to live in a new place with different people whom I would have never been exposed to otherwise.”

Brennan emphasized the importance of branching out and trying new things inside and outside an academic atmosphere. For himself, his interests in techno music and the techno subculture inspired him to start DJing as a creative outlet.

Now two years into his six-year doctorate program, he said the new environment to explore different people and hobbies is never-ending. Although a six-year program might seem overwhelming to others, he said his self-motivation and desire to succeed keep him going.

“In graduate school, you are expected to figure things out for yourself and find it in yourself to rise to the task and complete tasks from a purely self-motivated standpoint,” Brennan said.

Next year, Brennan will have the chance to teach a philosophy course to undergraduate students and start his dissertation. Fortunately, Brennan has experience with both of those thanks to his time as an undergraduate at Penn State. For several semesters, Brennan taught courses to his peers through the Students Teaching Students program, which offers a unique opportunity for undergraduate students at Penn State to create, plan and teach official courses. Brennan’s involvement with Students Teaching Students was the “defining” experience that he credited for his passion for teaching.

As a Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar, Brennan was required to write an undergraduate thesis.

“Penn State provided me with an understanding of how academia works,” Brennan said. “Completing an undergraduate thesis was huge for me since it is like a mini dissertation. So very early on in my grad program, I already had an idea of how to do dissertation research and how to write a dissertation, which has been super helpful.”

His graduate thesis, along with the course he will teach next semester, will focus on his interest in late twentieth-century French philosophy.

“Philosophy forces you to think at these deeper levels and develop a critical mind,” Brennan said. “When you study philosophy, you start viewing the world differently than you would with your day-to-day experiences. It has changed the way I approach the world, and I would never take that back.”

After graduating with his doctorate, Brennan hopes to become a professor at a research university.

“The professors at Penn State and in the College of the Liberal Arts wanted me to succeed. They were so helpful and so incredible, and I'm still really, really grateful for all the support and the amazing philosophy professors I had,” Brennan said. “They inspired me to do what I'm doing now, and I don't think I would be doing it if it weren't for them. I want to carry that legacy forward and make an impact on my future students just like these faculty did for me.”