Students can always use more money.

In and around Kent, there are ways to come up with a little extra change without scrounging through couch cushions or hitting up parents.

At the beginning and end of every semester, students take the opportunity to dump off the heavy books they have been lugging around and sell them back for a measly amount of money.

Sophomore art education major Zach Mikula was so strapped for cash he sold his books back during the middle of the semester.

Mikula said he has also sold other items such as video games.

“Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do,” he said.

Other students are finding ways to market their own personal skills and talents to come up with a few extra bills.

Sarah Halverson, sophomore educational interpreting major, has been studying sign language since high school. She said she believes with her experience, she is comfortable enough to tutor others.

Halverson recently began putting out fliers, but hasn’t tutored anyone yet.

She said she plans to charge about $15 per session, and each session will last about an hour to an hour and a half.

Although it is a good way for her to earn extra money, she said, it is not the reason she wants to tutor.

“I believe I can help others enjoy and understand it better,” she said. “I’m really just doing it to help others and myself.”

Tanika Haynes, a former Kent State student, has been working with hair for about 15 years.

She wants to get her cosmetology license, and, Haynes said, she found doing hair was a good way to earn money in the mean time.

Haynes said she has always advertised at Kent State because she feels comfortable here, and the people have really trusted her.

“My dream is to become a celebrity hairstylist,” she said. “Kent State is where I got my start, and it will go down with me forever.”

If students can’t find some way to earn money, they should try focusing on personal interests.

Senior accounting major Nick Marazza turned one of his favorite hobbies into a source of income.

He started playing poker during his freshman year and kept getting better.

“It’s like anything else,” he said. “If you practice enough, you get better and better.

“A lot of it is luck, though, if you can’t handle losing you’ll never make it.”

Contact news correspondent Tiffany Ciesicki at [email protected].

OTHER WAYS TO EARN QUICK MONEY: • Clean out the closet full of clothes that never get worn, and take them to Plato’s Closet in Cuyahoga Falls. The store accepts a variety of different types of clothing, as long as they are clean and in good condition. • Get rid of all the items lying around the house that have been forgotten and abandoned, and sell them on eBay. • Before resorting to donating sperm or plasma, check out a one of those e-mails about participating in surveys and studies. They usually offer some sort of cash reward.