The College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern State University includes the School of Creative and Performing Arts, the Louisiana Scholars’ College, the STEM Department, the Communication Department, the English Department and the Division of Mathematics. Each department allocates resources to the faculty and staff to provide a comprehensive education for its students.
Silas Vanderhey is a sophomore fine and graphic arts major who loves using multimedia to create useful and decorative items. Vanderhey is currently taking a ceramics class that combines creativity and math to make art. “I think it’s symbiotic, how artists need to use a little bit of science and math to mix glazes and paints, and then science is an art in how they mix and create things,” Vanderhey said.
Whether it’s an artist molding a clay pot, a writer crafting a new story or a scientist mixing formulas, the College of Arts and Sciences studies the different forms of creating, transforming and understanding humanity’s ingredients.
Kallie Bourgeois is a junior communication major who is very involved in student journalism and a student worker for the Communication Department. Bourgeois enjoys working in different parts of the department and loves how easy it is to expand one’s skill set with the resources the college provides.
“There’s just a lot of opportunities and events that help you grow regardless of what you want to go into. The teachers and all of the different platforms we use are very hands-on, and that’s something I love personally,” Bourgeois said.
The College of Arts and Sciences is one college that every student passes through as they complete the core requirements for their major. The expansive resources can provide many opportunities for students to join campus organizations and find internships, or to get involved in their future careers through the college’s offerings.
Valetta Whitman, a sophomore biology major, chose her major to work with animals and appreciates that the college partners with the fish hatchery and veterinarian clinics in Natchitoches. Whitman enjoys the real-world experiences that she receives in the classroom. “The teachers are very helpful and the class size is small, but we’re all very close and we get to see different people in our different classes,” Whitman said.
The College of Arts and Sciences, though diverse, is a melting pot of creativity and deductive reasoning, which can equip students with the skills to succeed in all aspects of life. Each student and each major receives personal class instruction and opportunities outside the classroom, which can help them achieve their dream career.
