OPINION: The dangers of disconnection from reality at a liberal arts college

Pomona College describes itself as “an ideal environment for intellectually curious students to pursue their academic and life goals,” according to its website. Pomona’s stated mission promises more than intellectual development: It should also guide us toward practical competence — our “life goals.” The liberal arts ideal values knowledge for its own sake, aiming to cultivate thoughtful, well-rounded citizens beyond the narrow confines of pre-professionalism.

Yet, in my short time here as a first-year student, I haven’t noticed this coming to fruition. Practical skills and intellectual development have diverged, and we wrongly treat them as mutually exclusive. As we journey through our time at Pomona, it’s worth asking: Are we becoming too removed from the realities outside our ivory tower?

I’ve observed that students at Pomona fall into two extremes — those on the pre-professional track (such as computer science or finance majors) and those I’ll call the “academic junkies” or anti-preprofessionals (usually humanities majors). Both extremes face a challenge, though in vastly different ways: Pre-professional students are career-ready but intellectually limited, while anti-preprofessionals are intellectually boundless but practically unprepared.

While on opposite ends of the spectrum, they share the same problem: Neither group has a clear grasp of the practical skills that transcend their field of study.

Pre-professionals focus intensely on career advancement and often measure success through high-profile internships and job offers. But this singular focus on practicality often comes at the expense of intellectual growth. A liberal arts education is supposed to encourage expansive thinking. Without exposure to broader academic inquiry, these students risk becoming trapped in a professional bubble, unable to engage meaningfully with the world beyond their career goals.

On the other side are students who revel in studying for the sake of studying and often dismiss the idea of practical work altogether. Whether through a passion for literature, philosophy or sociology — but also math and science — they immerse themselves in a world of ideas.

These students become so wrapped up in theory and abstraction that they miss out on developing the skills necessary to navigate the practical demands of daily life. Failing to grasp the real-world constraints that challenge their theoretical ideas, they become real-life representations of “all talk, no action.”

At best, this disconnect between theory and practice renders their intellectual pursuit irrelevant to the real world; at worst, actions solely guided by theory without consideration of their real-world consequences may undermine the ideals they aim to uphold.

Both groups reflect the same problem: They’re disconnected from the very real, practical challenges of the world.

There’s a fine line between valuing intellectual curiosity and becoming detached from the practical realities of life. As students, we risk feeling entitled to a world that doesn’t operate according to our intellectual ideals. Skills like contract negotiation or civic engagement may not fit neatly into a major, but they are essential for navigating the ever-changing world.

We should be able to uphold academic excellence while recognizing the value of hands-on experience. Germany’s incorporation of vocational tracks alongside the traditional college path and Pitzer College’s Inside-Out program, in which incarcerated people and students learn together, are blueprints for how we might achieve this.

I came to Pomona set on becoming a doctor. While I had a vague interest in the humanities, my plan was to major in molecular biology and tread down the pre-med path. After taking my first philosophy class, though, my perspective shifted — both for what I wanted to get out of college and perhaps for my future profession.

It’s time for more discourse around what it means to be truly well-rounded. A liberal arts education isn’t just about learning things in isolation. It’s about connecting ideas to the real world. A student who can fluently discuss Foucault and solve linear algebra equations but can’t talk to incarcerated people or negotiate a salary doesn’t fully exemplify the well-rounded education Pomona promises.

We shouldn’t be academically oriented versions of Serena Van Der Woodsen — perfectly poised but totally disconnected from life’s practicalities. The world beyond Pomona requires practical competence that theoretical knowledge alone cannot provide. Only by integrating academics with real-world experience can we truly be prepared.

Anna Yost PO ’28 swapped lab reports for literature and is on a mission to explore the human side of learning.