Jan. 13, 2025
Nathaniel Lloyd’s journey to a successful career wasn’t a straight path. What started as a clear plan to pursue a career as an engineer by enrolling in the engineering program at Boston University, led to a major in art history followed by a master’s degree in accounting. It took him some time to find the right fit.
“I had a career in mind, but I burned out quickly. Engineering is probably the toughest major in my opinion,” Lloyd said. “I never regretted changing out of engineering, but then it became a question of "now what?" I no longer had a specific drive.”
After realizing engineering wasn’t right for him, Lloyd didn’t know what he wanted to do professionally. However, he did know one thing, he had an interest in history and great experiences in film studies classes.
“I had to find something that worked for me and that I could get done in a year and a half,” he said.
Lloyd decided to pursue a liberal arts degree, and, more specifically, a major in art history.
“I love the idea of getting a liberal arts degree especially if you don’t know what you want to do,” he said. “It’s a little bit more interesting than a generic business degree.”
Lloyd knew he would need a bachelor's degree to further his future career, so he wanted to choose one that would make him a more interesting person and that would keep him engaged.
“I never had the intention of being some sort of art historian or working at a museum,” he said. “I took it because I enjoyed aspects of it and it was important to me to get a degree on some level.”
After graduating from BU, Lloyd still didn’t know what he wanted to do for a career. However, while working in computer services, he got some additional certifications in information technology.
“I always knew I was someone who would go on to learn more and become something so I had to ask myself, do I want to become an IT professional with all these certifications or not,” he said.
IT didn’t stick for him, but he found out that he was good at accounting through filing taxes and organizing other forms and decided to further his education in that field.
“I enjoyed the organizational aspects and learning how numbers work,” Lloyd said. “I finally knew what I wanted for a career.”
At age 29, Lloyd enrolled in the Master of Science in accounting at Grand Valley State University.
“It’s hard to get into something like accounting when you start at 29. This field is all about experience and credentials,” he said. “Even though I started a bit late, I think I’ve done really well.”
Today, Lloyd is the director of Budget and Business Services at Grand Rapids Community College, a role he’s held since 2017.
“My liberal arts classes helped me learn a lot about critical thinking and sets me apart from others in the finance world,” he said.
Lloyd’s story shows that a liberal arts degree isn’t just about studying subjects you enjoy. It’s about gaining the skills to think broadly, adapt to unexpected opportunities and, ultimately, build a rewarding career in fields you may never have originally considered.
Explore programs in the School of Liberal Arts at GRCC.
This story was reported by Jada Reahm.