OMAHA NATIVE BRINGS AN ABUNDANCE OF EXTRA-CURRICULAR EXPERIENCE TO UNK BLOGS

Curt Carlson
Vice Chancellor for University Relations, 308.865.8529
 

If campus involvement correlates into interesting stories, then Siobhan Duffy’s blog entries for University of Nebraska at Kearney will certainly be appealing.

A senior at UNK from Omaha, Duffy is one of six UNK students who have been selected to provide detailed logs and photos of their college lives to be uploaded to the university’s home page.

During her tenure at UNK, Duffy has participated in a number of activities. She is a Student Peer Leader for the First Year Experience program, and she is a member of Students in Mass Media, the Student Alumni Foundation and the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. She is also the former New Member Educator and Co-Activities chair for Alpha Omicron Pi and president of Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol.

In addition to campus activities, Duffy works part-time at the Nebraskan Student Union Welcome Desk and served as a communications and government relations intern for the Nebraska State Education Association.

According to Duffy, the most important thing that readers can learn from the UNK bloggers is the campus environment.

“When a student takes a tour of the campus, they really only see one side of it. By reading the blogs, the students can see what UNK classes are like, what there is to do around town, as well as different organizations that are available to join,” Duffy said.

Duffy said when she was deciding what college to attend, she didn’t have a complete understanding of what the whole college experience was like.

“I remember when I was choosing a school, I really didn’t know what went on in the day-to-day life of a student. I thought [blogging] would be a great way to help students see what life is like at UNK,” Duffy said.

An organizational communications major and public relations minor, Duffy is debating whether to enroll in graduate school or enter the work force following her graduation. She also said her graduation decision may be a unique perspective found in her blogging.

“I think prospective students will get to see what a person does in their final year of college-deciding on graduate schools or applying for jobs,” Duffy said.
    
While Greek life and her work may appear in her blog entries, Duffy said one of the most prevalent themes in her writing will be her post-graduation decisions.

“I am a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, and have been very involved in Greek life during my time at UNK. I also work at the Student Union, so I usually know what events are taking place there. But right now, the biggest part of my college life is perfecting my resume and trying to decide what to do after I graduate,” Duffy said.

The other five UNK bloggers are Kelli Cavenah, a psychobiology major from Rapid City, S.D.; Astrid Garcia, an elementary education major from GrandIsland; Cory Helie, a journalism major from North Platte; Melissa Hinkley, a journalism major from Lincoln; and Larry Perez, a criminal justice major from Topeka, Kan.

To view any of these bloggers’ entries, log-on to www.unk.edu, and click the “Student Bloggers at UNK” photo at the top-left corner of the UNK home page.