I have a few questions. Just recently I decided to change my major and I will now be working on getting a BA not a BS.

Q: I have a few questions. Just recently I decided to change my major and I will now be working on getting a BA not a BS. Could I still participate in MAES? Do I still qualify for scholarships? I am also worried on job options through MAES for my new career, which is Political Science with a concentration in Policy making and Administration. I love being in MAES and I hope to be involved with MAES for many more years to come.

A: Good questions. I certainly hope that you continue to be an active MAES member. MAES membership is open to all and all are welcome to become MAES members. Whether or not you qualify for scholarships depends on the scholarship for which you are applying. Every scholarship has its own criteria. As long as you meet the criteria, you will qualify for that particular scholarship.

Regarding your job options, I think MAES can offer you a wonderful opportunity to practice your political science and policy making skills. MAES badly needs your help. Being a bunch of engineers, we know how to identify problems and attack them with our technical aptitude. The problem is that some of these problems are not solvable with Newtonian mechanics or Maxwell's equations. We need political science majors to help us work with Washington DC. We need accountants to handle our money. We also need marketers to help us get the word out about wonderful it is to be a MAES member. We need business majors to help us run the organization and strategically plan for its future.

I'm very happy that you are a political scientist that cares for the people and mission of MAES. Like I said, MAES can offer you a wonderful opportunity to practice political science. We need help in Washington. We need someone with passion for the cause to take that passion and apply it to networking with our government officials and educating them about the benefits of MAES. I hope you see the enormous benefit you can provide the organization by making contributions in this area.