A liberal university education compels students to learn different concepts across various disciplines, enabling them to solve unprecedented problems with innovative ideas, according to José A. Cruz Torres.
It was in my ethics class in the Philosophy Department during my undergraduate studies that I formally, for the first time, faced the challenge of questioning what it means to be a good citizen. I left that class with more questions than answers—and I loved it!
Education encompasses much more than learning historical dates or multiplication tables. We educate ourselves to prepare for being good citizens.
A good citizen is someone with a well-defined set of values who contributes something of value to society. We often think of employment as the primary vehicle for fulfilling this role. An employed person, earning a decent wage, can sustain themselves and their family, thereby contributing to the nation’s economy.
What, then, are the skills these future employees or entrepreneurs should acquire to compete for such wages?
In today’s highly volatile job market, impacted by technology and globalization, vocational-technical skills alone are not enough for long-term career success. Today's and tomorrow’s employees must constantly learn new things to remain flexible in the job market. Employers are increasingly interested in continuous learning abilities, critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills across all industries.
A liberal university education addresses this need, as it requires students to learn diverse concepts from various disciplines, enabling them to solve unprecedented problems with innovative ideas, working together with individuals from diverse backgrounds. An employee with transferable skills across distinct roles and industries will maintain their viability in the job market. For this reason, at Fundación Kinesis, we promote the development of these skills in our youth.
Furthermore, a good citizen must be informed about the economic and social issues that hinder their country's progress. These problems are complex, and addressing them requires examining their roots, which can be found in both the most rigorous scientific research and the cryptic poems of the most influential artistic authors.
To aspire to a higher quality of life—for oneself and others—one must understand the human condition alongside data analysis. A liberal university education combines these worlds, allowing us to better appreciate social problems and propose solutions that are grounded.
A liberal university education offers the opportunity to explore several topics for personal exploration. If we seek to live a fulfilling life, we must identify something that moves us. Our best artists, scientists, educators, and others have left their mark by focusing their efforts on developing what inspires them.
To achieve this experience, we should invest in university education. This is why Fundación Kinesis supports the university success of talented Puerto Ricans who study at the best institutions in Puerto Rico and the United States.
We want our talented students to have the chance to define what it means to be a good citizen for themselves because Puerto Rico needs them to face its most pressing challenges.
