Macon State College MVPs is a web feature that profiles notable students, alumni, faculty and staff.
Kristin Hanlin is editor of the student newspaper and a Macon State Foundation Presidential Scholarship recipient.
Full Name: Kristin Alaine Hanlin.
Age: 20.
Hometown: Asheville, N.C.
Residence: Warner Robins.
High School: Warner Robins High School, where she was a member of the debate team.
Family: “I recently got engaged to Benjamin Rommel. He’s pretty much my favorite person ever. My parents, Bob and Tammie Hanlin, and brother are also fantastic people.”
Current Employment: Full-time student.
Degree Objective: Bachelor of arts in English.
Class Rank: Senior.
Activities: Former features editor of The Macon Statement, now editor-in-chief. Co-vice president of Alpha Rho Sigma, Macon State’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta.
Career Goals: “I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I want to be. I’d love to be a writer and I once considered being a teacher. Right now I’m just looking forward to graduating from college!”
She chose Macon State College because … “My mom attended Macon State and she’s one of my biggest inspirations in life. One day during my senior year of high school, she told me there was going to be a luncheon for people interested in applying for the Presidential Scholarship at Macon State. I was excited to get free food, so I went with her to the luncheon. I applied for the scholarship, got it, and decided that Macon State was the place for me.”
The one thing that surprised her about Macon State was … “Macon State doesn’t make students take classes on Friday.”
Her favorite professor is … “Sydney Chalfa. She is one of the kindest and most interesting people I’ve ever met in my entire life. She taught me to love documentaries in my ‘Perspectives in Society and Film’ class. She helped me to develop my skills in public speaking. Now, she’s teaching me how to put together cohesive videos in ‘Digital Storytelling.’ She knows something about pretty much everything that matters.”
Her favorite place to study is … “I like to study in my bed. I know it’s not a good place because I get way too comfortable and I fall asleep, but that’s why it’s my favorite place. I feel that napping right after reading a lesson helps me to think creatively about it because I tend to dream about what I was studying. This is especially useful as an English major. Many of my research paper ideas sprung from remembering post-study-napping dreams.”
One thing people don’t know about her is … “I have an addiction to buying school supplies. It sounds silly (and it probably is), but it’s a legitimate problem that I’m trying to learn how to deal with. At the beginning of the semester I visited Office Depot daily because they were selling paper folders for a penny each, but they had a limit of how many you could buy each day. What’s really sad is, despite buying over 100 folders with the help of my friends and family, I haven’t used a single one this semester.”
Her friends make fun of her because … “I like to think it’s because they care about me. That, and I give them a lot of material to work with. I’m laughably neurotic and I’m not really great at avoiding awkward situations. If I were friends with myself, I’d make fun of me, too!”
The one person she’d most like to meet is … “Oh, this is so easy! I think about this all the time. I would be the happiest person on Earth if I could just meet Tina Fey. She is my hero. She is why I’m okay with calling myself a feminist.”
Five years from now she sees herself … “My fiancé is going to be going into the Air Force within the next year and we’ll end up stationed somewhere after I graduate. I really hope that we end up somewhere awesome, but I’m sure I’ll find something great about anywhere I live. I just hope that in five years I’m alive and happy.”