Being involved, enjoying college life
John BrumbaughAt 5 a.m. on any given Monday, most of Central Michigan University's students are fast asleep.
But Clarkston sophomore Alana Goeringer can often be found busy working at Robinson Hall's front desk.
Goeringer, a broadcast and cinematic Arts major, is one of two desk managers at Robinson, a job she says takes up a great deal of her weekly schedule.
"I work at the desk about five times a week, and then I have additional desk responsibilities such as doing paperwork and getting change, which I do when I'm not in class," she said.
Goeringer also spends every other week "on-call," a duty she rotates with the other desk manager.
"If anyone working the desk needs help with anything, they call me to come down there and solve it," she said.
Goeringer's co-workers say she is good at what she does.
"Alana is very personable and hardworking," said Travis Gibler, Buckley freshman and member of Robinson's desk staff. "She connects well with the residents in Robinson, and juggles her schoolwork and her job very well."
While Goeringer's duties at Robinson are a large time commitment, she has a busy schedule outside the building as well.
As a general assignment reporter for News Central 34, she spends a significant portion of time working on current stories or gathering information for upcoming ones.
"I meet with Professor (William) Sykes, the adviser of News Central 34, as much as I can," she said. "I also meet with a videographer when I'm working on getting new stories."
Academics are very important to Goeringer, who will have achieved junior class standing after this semester.
"I have wanted to be a news anchor since the age of four," she said.
She also is pursuing minor degrees in journalism and Spanish, which she hopes will make her a dual threat in the media world.
"I feel that my journalism minor will give me even more experience in how the media operates and what is expected of you," she said. "The more experience a person has, the more valuable they are to an employer."
Goeringer does find free time amid her busy days.
"Although Alana is very busy with her job, there has never been a moment where I couldn't talk with her, or spend time with her when we wanted to," said Goeringer's roommate and Fremont sophomore Katie Pekel. "In our free time we love driving to random places in Mount Pleasant, going shopping and eating fast food together, and just hanging out in our dorm room."
Goeringer loves life at CMU, and intends to graduate from the university.
"I have met so many amazing people who have helped me to realize things about myself I had never thought about before," Goeringer said.
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