Melissa Hinkley, a junior from Lincoln who is a member of both the women’s basketball team and softball team at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, will soon add online journaling to her collegiate resume.
Hinkley 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.
As a journalism major and Spanish minor, Hinkley is academically suited for the job. She said she would like to write for a health or sports magazine someday. Though broadcasting seems to grab her interest, she prefers writing instead, because she is “more eloquent at writing my thoughts instead of verbalizing them.”
Hinkley said UNK athletic director John McBride persuaded her to apply for a blogger position because he said it would be a good opportunity for her to provide a unique view of college life.
According to Hinkley, the most important thing that readers can learn from the UNK bloggers is that college may be hectic, but it is rewarding if you take the time to get to know your fellow students and class material.
“College is crazy, but it is such a great experience. Make sure you don’t fly through these four years and not take a minute to realize the people you are meeting and what you are learning,” Hinkley said.
When she’s not hitting the basketball court or the softball field, Hinkley enjoys waterskiing, golfing, spending time with her family and baking sweets. It’s this down-to-earth message that Hinkley said she wants to spread through her writings.
“I want to be realistic with my message,” Hinkley said. “College entails much more then just opening a text book and reading a few chapters. It’s about building relationships and preparing yourself for your future.”
Hinkley said she doesn’t view herself as a typical student considering her athletic involvement and her participation in the honors program.
“I think that I have a very different perspective writing since I play basketball and softball. This has given me a great opportunity to learn how to balance a crazy college life with classes,” Hinkley said. “Not many students have the urge to play two sports and be in the honors program.”
Areas of interest that Hinkley said readers can expect to find in her journal entries include athletics, social life, relationships and classes.
The other five UNK bloggers are Kelli Cavenah, a psychobiology major from Rapid City, S.D.; Siobhan Duffy, an organizational communications major from Omaha; Cory Helie, a journalism major from North Platte; Astrid Garcia, an elementary education major from Grand Island; 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.
