Lucy Atkinson

Lucy Atkinson is a Journalism and Earth, atmosphere and environment double major from Anchorage, AK

Hometown: Anchorage, AK

High School: Bartlett High School

Year: Expected graduation: 2026

What scholarships did you receive and why did you receive them? How has the financial support impacted your experience at NIU?
For the 2024-2025 academic term, I received the Arthur P. and Sue Warwick Doederlein Scholarship for my role as an honors student pursuing a humanities degree in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The financial support is immensely helpful and meaningful to me, as traveling to and from Alaska makes the cost of attending college steep. Financial support from scholarships is the reason I'm able to attend school here in the Midwest, which has been — and continues to be — a spectacular adventure.

What did you want to be when you were growing up? Are you pursuing that as a major, or have you taken another path?
I wanted to be a wide variety of things when I was growing up, from a zookeeper to an arachnologist,  an ornithologist or a wildlife veterinarian. As I got older and discovered I could not go into the medical field for fear of blood, I gained an increasing interest in writing. Since then, my primary goal has been to work in science communications or journalism. I would love to combine my passions for writing and nature by following this path.

What is your major (and/or minor) and why did you decide on this course of study?
To get my foot in both the journalism field and the geology field, I am currently pursuing a double major in journalism and earth, atmosphere and environment with an emphasis in planetary sciences. I am having a wonderful time so far!

Have you conducted an internship?
Yes

How did you get your internship, and where was it?
I have worked with the Northern Star, the university's student newspaper, every semester since beginning at NIU. Last semester, I was given the wonderful opportunity to work at the Star for internship credit, moving up into an editing position. During my internship with the Star, I was the paper's opinion editor. I had worked in previous semesters as an opinion columnist and an assistant opinion editor.

How did your internship help prepare you for your career?
The Northern Star is a fantastic place for journalism students to gain hands-on experience that mimics the fast-paced environment of a newsroom. As we publish content daily to release in our daily newsletter, TLDR, the responsibilities of an editing position at the Northern Star are demanding, but meaningful. As opinion editor, it was my role to manage a team of columnists, edit and publish their work, schedule stories to be released each day, run the editorial board, prepare my own content for the section and attend management board meetings multiple times a week. These responsibilities helped my writing, communication, time-management, people management and many more skills that will be more than helpful in any job I may begin in the future.

What has been something you have found pleasantly surprising about your experience at NIU?
It's a small observation, but I have found the school spirit and friendliness of most Huskies to be a wonderful characteristic of NIU! I was shy, nervous and scared to be away from home for the first time when I joined NIU as a freshman, but I am incredibly comfortable now. I am even beginning to feel sentimental and sad about the thought of graduating and leaving NIU next year! I'll miss the Huskie pride and campus love, though I know I'll always be a Huskie at heart.

How have you connected with other students to study for classes, meet new people or form new friendships?
Many of my closest friends I made through the Northern Star, and I feel so lucky to have that home away from home, especially as a student who struggled significantly with homesickness at the start of my academic career. However, I have also made some wonderful friends through the most random classes! One of my closest friends I made my freshman year in an anthropology class. We connected over fear of an upcoming exam, got together to study, aced our exams and remained good friends!

Are you involved in any student organizations, mentoring programs or extra-curricular activities? If so, which ones? How have they added to your experience as a Huskie?
My primary involvement since I arrived at NIU has been with the Northern Star. I began as an opinion columnist in fall 2022, moved up to be senior opinion columnist and then an assistant opinion editor in fall 2023, and then became opinion editor in spring 2024. I am the opinion editor again this semester, and while I’m not sure what position I’ll fill in the spring, I'm looking forward to more time with the Star, no matter where it takes me. While I mentioned this in response to an earlier question, I believe working with the Northern Star to be immensely valuable experience for a journalism student. The Star requires of me daily problem-solving and management, which is critical not only to journalism, but to nearly any field. I know my time at the Northern Star will have a lasting impact on my life, and for that I am very grateful.

What NIU offices, departments or resources have helped you feel safe, supported and successful? And how?
Career Services has been of extreme help to me feeling more confident in job interviews (which I have to do fairly frequently at the Star), crafting resumes and navigating job sites. Of course, I also owe my student employment to Career Services, so I may be a bit biased, but I genuinely believe the resources there are too often overlooked.

What Honors Program opportunities or support have helped you get closer to your academic or career goals so far?
I have taken several honors classes to fulfill honors requirements, and they have been super interesting! One honors seminar class I took last semester was especially intriguing. This seminar dived into social activism and media, which is particularly relevant to my interests. As opinion editor, my section at the Northern Star is the only section with room for advocacy, and I have always been interested in the power of writing to create change. Additionally, the honors scholarship I received this semester is incredibly meaningful to both me and my family. We are so grateful for all the financial support I've received, as such support makes traveling to and from Alaska for school possible.

What do you enjoy the most about the Honors Program?
I enjoy how the Honors Program encourages its members to become more involved on campus! This was super helpful to me during my freshman year as trying to fulfill engagement requirements sent me all over campus and introduced me to many cute little corners of the university! I am also very grateful for the guidance and scholarship opportunities the Honors Program includes, of course, and feel secure to have that support as another pillar in my college career.

Who has been one of your favorite instructors/professors and why? What course did they teach?
Jason Akst has been among my favorite instructors for a while now. This is the first semester since my second semester at NIU that I have not been in one of Jason's classes, and I'm missing his teaching a lot! For three semesters in a row, I was in Jason's "Basic News Writing," "Feature Writing," and "Editorial and Opinion Writing" classes. I loved his sense of humor, friendliness and matter-of-fact teaching style, and I loved the writing projects we embarked on. Throwing us in the journalism pool forced us to swim, and his assignments helped me feel more confident in my own work at the Northern Star too.

How have you benefited by attending class regularly?
Attending class regularly is one of the main reasons I have been able to remain academically successful during college! While not every class requires attendance, I have rarely found lectures to be unimportant or not beneficial to my own learning. It's through taking handwritten notes during lecture that I find information sticks best in my head. Even just missing one class for sicknesses or appointments always has me feeling super behind. I'm grateful for the patient and understanding professors who have helped in those situations, though.

Where is your favorite spot on campus or in the community? Why are you drawn to it?
My favorite spot on campus is a specific bench at the East Lagoon next to a big bald cypress tree that I nicknamed the "Cinderella Tree" in freshman year! The East Lagoon in general is a constantly lovely spot throughout each of the seasons, overflowing with frolicking squirrels, gaggles of geese and a fantastic variety of trees. As I grew up in Alaska, one of my favorite pastimes since coming to Illinois has been exploring the different flora and fauna the Midwest offers, and I've come to absolutely love the East Lagoon for that very reason. Whether stressed out about classes, work or personal life, the East Lagoon is the perfect spot to clear your head, and I'm so grateful to have found a college campus that has some natural beauty to it as well.

What advice would you give to a student who is researching colleges to apply to?
I would encourage all students looking to attend college to seriously consider the financial impact college will have on them. I absolutely believe in pursuing a college education; however, I also believe our generation is facing financial barriers to college like never before. NIU was a great choice for me because it offers in-state tuition for all students! Financially, everything fell into place for me with NIU, but I encourage students looking to attend college to look in-depth into the different scholarship opportunities and fees of each school they're interested in. Additionally, think about what physical environment you want to be in. How far from home are you comfortable venturing? What surroundings will make you feel happiest?

Why is a college education important to you?
A college education is important to me because it means a lot to be able to have the opportunity to pursue subjects of study that are of genuine, personal interest to me. My own values can be reflected in the classes I take in college, which makes it different from grade school in a very special way! I feel incredibly lucky to be able to attend college — despite the immense costs of education today — and head down a dream career path.

What strategies do you use to manage your time between the responsibilities of school, work, friends and family?
I find using a small, handwritten planner can go a long way in helping me manage my time. Each day, I'll write little to-do lists of each of the tasks I need to complete before I can relax. Scratching those tasks off is rather satisfying! Additionally, I'm a strong believer in having a good work-life balance. I think it's that balance that maintains quality work, anyways. Thus, I know to take small brain breaks when I need to, especially on particularly lengthy study days. Even a short 10-minute break when I can look away from my computer and notes and think about something else can refresh my thought process and leave me much more efficiently productive than seconds before.

How do you stay informed about events and services that are available on campus?
Working at the student newspaper is an easy way to stay up to date one what's going on around campus. I read the TLDR newsletter every day, which is where I glean most of my information about upcoming events on campus. However, I also gain information from talking with my classmates, checking flyers in the Holmes Student Center, following NIU and organizations I'm interested in on Instagram and scrolling through announcement emails like the Weekly Scroll.

What do you do to relax or recharge?
To relax and recharge I enjoy reading fiction, watching movies with my family and friends, cross-stitching little gifts and playing piano!

Please tell us about your job and hobbies.
I currently work two jobs on campus. I am opinion editor with the Northern Star, which I've discussed in response to other questions in this survey, and I am a career peer advisor with Career Services, where I edit resumes and cover letters for students, prepare marketing materials and help with tabling events, among other responsibilities. I am very grateful to both the Northern Star and Career Services teams for the welcoming employment opportunities they've offered me! As for hobbies, in addition to the activities I listed above as my "recharge" activities, I have always enjoyed collecting little samples from nature. I love pressing flowers and leaves, and I rarely leave for a walk without coming back with some little treat in my pocket. I also have begun to love photography, particularly bug photography, as I have always had a love for creepy crawlies. They make fantastic models!