BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Western Kentucky University's game design program is giving students like Natashja Gentry the resources to jump right into the gaming world.

Gentry is a junior visual studies major from Florence, Kentucky, and part of 26 students enrolled. She is one class away from completing her certificate. She said it would be a dream to work for one of the big gaming companies upon graduation.

“It’s something I've always been interested in. I've liked playing games since I was a kid," said Gentry. "I grew up on Nintendo and games like Epic Mickey. I love the way it's designed and the characters.”

Gentry is currently designing characters in her animation class. She is being led by professor Truth Tran who has been in the gaming industry for six years before WKU.

“The vision for the entire class is to have a portfolio of characters from concepts to ideas to model and animate them," said Tran. "To show employers that this is my work and you only need one.”

The game design curriculum consists of six classes for a total of 18 hours. There are more than 200,000 people in the gaming industry in the United States as of 2021, according to Statista. 

Gentry said that making these characters is not easy and there are many aspects involved.

"There is a lot more that goes into gaming than people think," said Gentry. "Learning the process is really cool.”

Gentry plans to graduate next spring and upon graduation, looks to dive directly into the field.