A large group of students searching for a major filled the Charleston/Mattoon Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. Union Monday night.

The panel was called “Choosing a Major,” which included 13 students and graduates who spoke about their majors and how they chose them.

“This is the largest crowd we’ve ever had,” said Jennifer Lewis, an adviser for the Academic Advising Center.

Majors, minors and preprograms represented by the panel were economics, computer information systems, career and technical education, management, speech communications, journalism, marketing, special education, pre-nursing, family and consumer sciences, library science, pre-law and elementary education.

All the panelists said their majors had certain advantages that helped them pick the field.

Kara Hayes, an elementary education major, said by being a teacher she would be “changing lives.”

She also said teachers only work about 180 days of the year, which equals about six months.

“This is the most rewarding thing you could ever do,” said Tom Sabey, a special education major.

Many of the majors, including nursing and computer information systems, had opportunities for well-paying jobs after graduation.

Good job markets for careers in tech education and business also caught the eyes of the panelists.

Flexibility was key for some students.

“This is a very, very flexible major,” said Chad Brothers, an economics major.

Everyone had advice to share with the audience.

“Take your time to find out what you want to do,” said Kelly Crispin, a pre-nursing major.

“Find what you have a passion for and go after it,” Hayes said.

Others said to talk to many people, have fun while at Eastern and use its resources, but everyone agreed that students should get involved with clubs and activities.