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Neurochem: (n), Conversation, Speed Dating, and Round Table Chats

As a Cobber going into their senior year, needing their peak course, there were a lot of options of classes that I had to choose from. I had heard of the dreaded horrors of microbio, other classmates constantly complaining about embryology, and other laments about other capstone or PEAK classes. Then I heard from Brooke Maruska how great this class called neurochemistry was. And somehow, through the Grace of Concordia College, one of the best teachers on the planet also teaches it. All of those factors caused me to sign up for this class, even though I absolutely VOWED to never take another Chemistry class here again.

I stepped into syllabus day with a huge smile on my face as Dr. Mach strolled through the door and greeted us with her patented, “Hey, class”, and suddenly, I knew, that I had made the right choice. Some faces around me were familiar, others not so much, but by the end of the year, we came together through class-wide chats, where I can say I genuinely made new friends.

Through this year, we spent hours discussing every day pathology of diseases that we see that are prevalent around us, Alzheimer’s, autism, schizophrenia, CTE, and bipolar disorder, just to name a few. And through this class, we learned things about ourselves and the world that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. This class is the ideal Concordia capstone course.

What is a Capstone? Why do we have to take one?

A capstone is a class that carries 5 main values;

Instill a love for learning: Dr. Mach is literally one of the best teachers at Concordia in the fact that she makes you care about what you’re learning. This is the second class I’ve had the opportunity to take from her (Biochemistry being the first) and I can say that she has made learning so easy to do. These topics that we’ve covered this year will come up in every day life, affecting our loved ones and the ones around us, and it’s super important to understand what is exactly going on behind the scenes of these diseases.

Develop foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities: Scientific Paper reading is an acquired skill. I like to make the joke that science is a language of itself, and reading scientific papers requires a level of skill that not a lot of people have. After this class, you will be able to read scientific papers with ease, and will be able to find the terms that you don’t understand so you can understand fully the concept of what is going on in the pathology. This is useful for any science class we will have to take in our post graduate schools.

Develop an understanding of disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and intercultural perspective and their connections: This class brings together majors of all sorts, we had neuroscience, biology, psychology, music, and chemistry majors all in one class, intermingling and getting to know each other all year long. The sit down chats and speed dating made a lot of this stuff feel personal, like you’re actually getting to know the person, instead of just the topic they covered that week.

Cultivate an unexamined cultural, ethical, physical, and spiritual self-understanding: This class will absolutely challenge you to think about mental health and other diseases in ways you have never thought of before. Understanding where the issues come from is the number one way to understand the root of the problem.

Encourage responsible participation in the world: BREW BREW BREW BREW. As part of this class, you are required to do a community action project with social work majors. NOW NOW NOW, I understand that sounds like so much work, but let me tell you, it ended up being my favorite part of the year. My group reached out into the community and worked with people with Alzheimer’s, and we tried to implement a personalized type of music therapy in our community, and let me tell you, was that the most rewarding thing seeing that all come together in the end.

I am SO glad I took this class, and I would recommend anyone in the world, regardless of your major, to at least consider Neurochemistry for their PEAK experience.