Critical thinking, careful reading and ethical reasoning are not confined to just one career path.
For Kent State senior Maggie McNamara, those skills, developed through her time studying philosophy, have opened doors to future career opportunities.
Now a graduating senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, McNamara is considering paths that may seem, at first glance, worlds apart: law school or medicine. For her, the connection is clear.
“Philosophy teaches you how to think rather than what to think,” McNamara said. “These skills are adaptable no matter where you choose to go in life.”
McNamara said she was drawn to Kent State’s philosophy program after researching its broad pluralistic curriculum, which spans ancient Greek philosophy, contemporary analytic thought, Eastern traditions and feminist theory.
“It’s that breadth of intellectual agility that was attractive to me,” McNamara said.
The faculty were equally important to her. She pointed to professors who balance active research with a commitment to teaching and mentoring students.
Among the courses that shaped her experience was associate professor Kimberly Garchar, Ph.D.’s ethics and the environment class, which McNamara said stood out for its engaging discussions and guest lectures. She also highlighted courses with assistant professor David Pereplyotchik, Ph.D., in philosophy of science and philosophy of mind, and assistant professor Matthew Coate, Ph.D.’s late modern philosophy course.
“That particular timeline can be a bit complex, as you’re studying Fichte, Kant and some other challenging thinkers,” McNamara said. “But he really took the time to explain everything well.”
One class in particular, philosophy of science, proved especially influential for McNamara. She said the course was compelling enough that it led her to briefly consider graduate study in philosophy.
“It opened up a whole new world for me,” McNamara said.
Beyond class time and coursework, McNamara credits philosophy with sharpening skills she now uses well outside the classroom. She said the discipline’s emphasis on critical thinking, argumentation and close reading translates easily to real world settings.
“Philosophy demands precision,” McNamara said. “Critical thinking and argumentation, reading comprehension and analysis, extracting meaning from dense, complex text, synthesizing ideas from different sources and periods. Your ability to write clearly and persuasively is demanded. You develop sophisticated frameworks for analyzing moral questions.”
Those skills have become central to her consulting work with companies in manufacturing, transportation and engineering sectors navigating workplace change and the growing role of artificial intelligence.
McNamara’s consulting work focuses on the intersection of organizational communication and applied ethics. She works with leadership teams facing significant workforce or technological transitions, helping them consider not only how decisions are communicated, but whether those decisions align with organizational values.
She recently advised an auto parts company preparing for automation driven restructuring that would significantly change employee roles and long-standing customer relationships. The process raised ethical questions about transparency and responsibility for the workers affected by those decisions.
“These are ethical problems and companies that treat them as purely logistical tend to find out the hard way that culture and reputation are more difficult to rebuild than a balance sheet,” McNamara said.
Day to day, her work involves collaborating with leadership teams to examine assumptions behind major decisions and to think through potential long term consequences before changes are implemented.
“I think on the business side of things, philosophy has an endless number of applications,” McNamara said.
McNamara has also spent time exploring law through Kent State’s Pre-Law Center, which she described as a valuable resource for students considering legal careers. While law initially drew her in for its theoretical and historical dimensions, particularly the way policy decisions affect people’s lives, medicine has recently captured her attention for different reasons.
“I am attracted to the hands on, caring nature of thatd work,” McNamara said. “It’s something that demands your full consciousness and attention, and I really like the idea of helping people in that way.”
Although she has already been accepted to law school, McNamara plans to retake the LSAT in hopes of securing a stronger scholarship package. She is also speaking with programs about possible pathways into medicine. For now, she said she is leaning slightly toward the medical field.
“Maggie is an exceptional student, who is both driven and intellectually curious," Garchar said. "She exemplifies what all philosophy graduates know—the study of philosophy challenges students to develop skills that are valued in all professions. Maggie explored advance study and career opportunities in both the law and medicine, and she is well prepared for success in both.”
For students uncertain about their future paths, her advice is simple.
“If you’re unsure of your professional interests or ambitions, philosophy is a great choice,” McNamara said. “It’s highly adaptable. It can set you up for any number of paths, and it’s something that you’re going to use every day.”
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