NDSU criminal justice students lend a hand at Micah’s Mission

Students are getting hands-on experience working with community members and guests, something that will help them as they move into their careers

Dr. Connie Koski, an assistant professor at North Dakota State University, with donations she brought to Micah’s Mission from students and faculty on Oct. 29, 2025.

There’s been a stampede of bison lately at Micah’s Mission, diligently sorting clothes, serving meals and helping their neighbors in need.

The uptick in bison sightings is thanks to Dr. Connie Koski, an assistant criminal justice professor at North Dakota State University.

For the first time this semester, Koski’s introduction to policing class students have been steadily streaming into Micah’s Mission as part of optional coursework, meant to prepare them for their future careers in the criminal justice field. 

“Preparing future practitioners, whether they want to be court workers or probation officers or police officers, they have to work with populations that most of the time you only hear about on TV,” Koski said.

The roughly 30 students must do two different types of volunteer work while at Micah’s Mission, and Koski encourages her students to take part in opportunities that involve direct interaction with shelter guests and community members.

A retired police officer, Koski’s career has informed her perspectives on the role shelters play in their communities, and the importance of having students interact with their guests.

“I know when I became a police officer, I didn’t have any experience talking to people with mental illness or unhoused people, and how do you learn to talk to those people and humanize them?” Koski said.

Along with wanting students to be prepared to interact with a diverse group of people, she wants them to be able to help enact change in a system so frequently referred to as “broken.”

“I’ve always personally found that there are many criminal justice professors out there who do research and kind of lament the broken system, but they just publish that research and don’t do anything to help fix it,” she said. “And I thought if I can reach one (student) per class and try to help contribute to making a better system, then I’ve succeeded.”

Koski first learned about Churches United this summer and began digging into its mission. She was impressed by what she saw, particularly in comparison to shelters she encountered in her law enforcement career.

In Michigan, where she worked as a police officer, she recalled a shelter that wouldn’t accept those struggling with substance abuse. In her experience, those barriers and other challenges led people to prefer braving the cold winter streets rather than seeking safety at the shelter.

Chloe Anderson, left, and Madeline Gothberg volunteering in the Micah’s Mission kitchen on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.

“So when I heard about all the welcoming things that happened here (at Churches United), all the more reasons to try to help support (it),” she said.

Two students, Madeline Gothberg and Chloe Anderson, were at Micah’s Mission last week, performing meal prep in the kitchen.

It was the second time this semester that they had volunteered. The first time, the two helped sort clothes in the donation room and fulfill clothing orders for community members and shelter guests.

“I think it’s important to get involved with this kind of stuff,” Anderson said of her choice to volunteer.

“I think of this as an experience you can’t get taught,” Gothberg added.

As for their future careers in criminal justice, Anderson, who plans to become a police officer, said it's important to get involved with the community. Gothberg, who is undecided about her exact career, knows that whatever she ends up doing, she wants to help people, and volunteering at Churches United gets her started on that path.

Also volunteering last week was student Julia Nelson, who plans to become an attorney.

“It’s really good to be able to interact with more people from diverse backgrounds — people who use services or need services or community support — so you have a broader understanding of community needs and an understanding of where people are coming from,” Nelson said of her decision to volunteer.  

As a student, she said she appreciates the opportunity to volunteer and be involved with the community, even if her coursework makes it so she can’t always volunteer on a consistent schedule.

“I’m just really grateful that places like this exist because there’s definitely a need for people to have these services and opportunities, and just to have people know that other people care about them and are trying to help them,” she said.

Churches United Volunteer and Donations Coordinator Keely Harvey said Koski’s students have been wonderful to work with and have done outstanding work at Micah’s Mission.

“We are really grateful to Dr. Koski, her students, and the belief they have in our mission at Churches United,” Harvey said. “Every time students show up, they are kind, courteous, respectful and get to work tackling the task before them. We love having bison here, and they are always welcome!”