The deadly, the creative, the fun

In high school, I took one fun class every semester. I needed one class to look forward to, for example, I got up to Ceramics 2. It is a habit I have continued into my college career. I hope to only attend once, so I have to get all the learning I can do in the four years I have left. 

However, since I have such varied interests, a lot of the classes that I have taken have been classes you may not know that NDSU offers. Even though these classes aren’t in my major, they were still so fun. There is value in learning just for the sake of learning. 

CJ 399 Serial Killers and Serial Killings

I have always had an interest in true crime. I am fascinated by why people do the things they do. Why on earth does another human being enjoy taking a human life? What motivates someone to kill? Are people born evil, or does their environment make them a killer? Why do they kill?

I had a brush with a killer and I never knew it, and never would have known it if I didn’t take this class. 

If you also find these questions fascinating and want to learn more about serial killers, this class is for you. To be honest, I loved it. I thought I knew about all the most famous serial killers, and I was wrong. I legitimately learned so much, and I regret the classes I skipped. 

My semester highlight was when we had someone from the behavioral analysis unit in Anchorage, Ala. come talk to us about their work on the Israel Keyes case. What’s even crazier is that I am from Alaska, where I lived when he killed his last victim. One of my church members worked on the case, and the coffee shops he took the previous victim from, my mom and I visited not 48 hours prior. 

I had a brush with a killer, and I never knew it and never would have known it if I didn’t take this class. 

If you want to learn more about profiling, victimology and social theory, this class will undoubtedly meet that need. If you’re looking for a fun extra credit, I can’t recommend this one enough.

Art 120 Painting 1 

Painting is something I also do a lot in my free time. I love art, and I jumped at the chance to learn more about one of my hobbies. In retrospect, I feel like I learned the most from my classmates. Observing the art that my classmates made was exciting and inspiring. 

A lot of preconceptions I had about art were debunked. I was convinced that my style was unrealistic, it meant my art was bad. That’s not true. Seeing my classmates’ beautiful art in all kinds of classes made me positively talk about my art. 

I learned a lot about color theory, brush strokes and attention to detail, and even though it was a lot of work, I feel like I am a better artist having taken the class. 

One of my other big takeaways was the importance of a sketchbook. I started the semester with a blank sketchbook and walked away with a half-full one. It gave me a place to sketch the paintings that lived in my noggin, practice art styles I wouldn’t have, like collage and practice things I am bad at, like perspective and people.

My final project for the semester is something I am pretty proud of. It’s not something I would have made on my own, and this class pushed me to try projects I would have thought myself capable of. 

All in all, a successful extracurricular class. 

HNES 167 E-Sports 

Video games are one of my favorite ways to relax. I am a Mario Kart queen, a Skyrim fanatic and the occasional Fortnite player. However, I haven’t had the spare change for my gaming PC due to a lack of funds. During my fall semester, when I had reached my tuition cap, I was able to take this class for free, and I did. 

For eight weeks, I had free access to the NDSU gaming lab and its state-of-the-art computers. I got to play whatever games I desired and had an account for. The only computer games I had were Minecraft and Fortnite, and it was still fun! After a tough semester, it was nice to walk to the bottom floor of the Union and work on building my Minecraft house. 

It was only one credit, and it was free for me and a lot of fun. All I had to do was show up and have a good time, and I got college credit for it. What more can a girl ask for?

Whether you are an incoming freshman or an upperclassman in need of extra credit, I can recommend all of these classes! Have a wonderful summer, everyone, and I look forward to seeing you all in the fall.