Allyssa Ertz | A&L Assistant Editor

J-Term at Buena Vista University held many, many engaging events. Unique classes, invigorating trips, and confidence-building internships all provided rare opportunities for students as they discover more about who they are and what they want to do in their futures. On and off campus, numerous connections were made along with unforgettable moments.

A wide variety of classes were offered for J-Term of 2017. For about a three week course, classes such as Adulting 101, Cryptography, and even a Harry Potter class were offered. There was also a class to assist in deciding a major, titled If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, You Should Probably Take This Course. All of these classes provided different information about whatever the student chose to take.

The Harry Potter class, taught by Katie Frick, consisted of a variety of interactive experiences. Students learned about Harry Potter and how the subject relates to the real world. Making a wand, playing Quidditch (a mix between soccer, basketball, and football), and making Butterbeer were just a few of the extraordinary happenings in this course. There was also a scavenger hunt all over the rec center for Harry Potter items. Each person was instructed to read all of the books and view all of the movies prior to taking this course.

Sydney Gunderson constructed her wand from apple wood, a glue gun, and brown paint. She was a part of Slytherin, which is one of the four houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her favorite part of the class was getting to play Quidditch.

“It was a good opportunity to connect something I already enjoy to problems in real life,” stated Gunderson.

Along with classes, several trips were offered throughout campus. A trip to the furthest south island in the world, a journey to Europe, and a Disney cruise with behind the scenes visits to Disney parks were all available to attend in January. Jerry Johnson and Henry Hardt were the professors that took the group of Disney-loving students on this magical trip.

According to freshman Brice Kudej, the excursion to the Disney world lasted for two weeks. It included a day at the famous Universal Studios, a four day cruise in the Bahamas, seven days at Disney parks, and an afternoon with Disney animators. Backstage tours of Disney were held throughout the visits to Disney parks. Students learned about Disney culture, teamwork, and leadership.

Storytelling was the overall point emphasized in this course. Classes were held daily, and the parts of Disney that were able to be seen were fascinating due to the fact that they are normally hidden to the normal person. A few highlights for Kudej included talking to Disney historian Jim Korkis, the four day cruise which stopped at Disney’s private island, and learning the lingo of Walt Disney and the detail that is put into the parks and cruise line.

“My favorite part of the whole trip was being able to eat barbeque on the beach in January,” said Kudej.

Katie Turnquist, senior at BVU, went on the trip to Europe. This trip consisted of visiting eight different countries. They woke around 8-10 a.m. every day and would tour cities until around 10 p.m. This means that the students averaged 10 to 15 miles of walking every day!
The two professors that were the instructors for this trip were Annamaria Elsden and Swasti Bhattacharyya. There was a planned itinerary for the group each day, but at least half of the day was free time that the students could do whatever they wanted in each city.

“My favorite part of the experience was being able to be in the same country as my ancestors once were,” said Turnquist. “It was such an incredible feeling knowing that my entire family originated in the exact country I was visiting.”

One of the most memorable parts of the trip for Katie was visiting the Dachau concentration camp. This was her favorite place that they saw. Actually going to this camp was a world of difference between reading about what occurred there. Standing where the events of this place happened was not a “happy” experience, but it was the most memorable and meant a lot to Turnquist.

Different internships were also available if applied for during J-Term. Kylee Deering, a sophomore at BVU, interned for Liebl Marketing Group in downtown Des Moines. She gained a great deal of valuable experience from this internship. Scheduling of social media, writing copy, and editing radio ads were just the beginning of everything that Deering experienced during this job.

Other duties that Deering participated in included creating online ads and establishing media marketing plans, plus some media buying experiences. She was able to sit in on meetings with clients and even assist in designing a layout for their websites. In a four week term, she gained a plethora of knowledge about the job field she plans to go into. Liebl Marketing Group made this internship experience one where Deering could be extremely creative and give her own ideas.

“I gained so much confidence in myself and my abilities. I felt like I really directed my path and was able to hone in on the things I enjoy doing most and that will help me in going forward with my studies at Buena Vista,” said Deering.
So many opportunities were included in each of these experiences at Buena Vista University. From learning the secrets of Harry Potter to visiting European cities to gaining real world experience, the 2017 J-Term experiences had much to offer and are times that these students will never forget.