Oct. 4, 2010
Contact:
Leah Seupersad, 404-413-1354
University Relations
ATLANTA - If you want to join a sorority, learn how to avoid the "Freshman 15" or need advice on surviving the first year of college, Noël Hahn says Georgia State students can find it all in the Signal.
Hahn, a 21-year-old senior at GSU, is the editor of the Living section of the student newspaper, which aims to provide students a slice of life about navigating around campus each week.
"I love to talk about everything about students and not just about student organizations," Hahn said. "I also don't want to cover events afterwards. I want people to know what's happening on campus."
Hahn, 21, has worked at the Signal since fall 2009. She previously served as news editor, but chose to take on fewer pages this year as she is set to graduate early with dual degrees in journalism and film and video studies.
Hahn's most recent stories include a guide to sorority life and an article about the Discovery Channel's "Mythbusters" speaking on campus.
"My favorite article was one I wrote a few weeks ago about the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. It's getting bigger and becoming more popular. I spent two days there and I not only got to talk to the person in charge, but seven of the food vendors. I found out a lot about their history," she said.
Hahn says writing is just one part of her job. Every day she works on a variety of tasks for the newspaper, from assigning and editing stories to helping to design pages. She helps to decide on eight stories to run in the Living section each week, with an emphasis on health and wellness, student organizations, studying abroad and finances.
"I've learned what it's like to really be a journalist and to know the pressures of deadlines. I know how to be able to write a story in 15 minutes if I have to," Hahn said.
Hahn started writing news articles in high school and served as features editor during her senior year. She's not sure what initially sparked her interest in writing, but it's likely in her genes.
"I think it's partly because we are descendents of Ralph Waldo Emerson so there's just a lot of writers in my family," Hahn said referring to the American essayist, poet and philosopher. "Everyone in my family seems to be a school teacher or a writer."
Hahn also loves reading and movies. Her favorite movie is "Dead Poets Society" and she's currently reading the "True Blood" series and the "Dresden Files."
This summer she interned at The Creative World Awards, an international screenwriting contest, where she helped judge about six screenplays a week. She says her dream job would be writing or directing a sci-fi fantasy TV show.
"I was a very imaginative kid. I have always loved movies and I like to watch television shows over and over again," Hahn said. "I'm not a person who just likes to sit down and watch movies, I watch commentaries, I watch anything that would tell me how they made the movie. And I sometimes think like a director. I will think that is the best angle for a shot right there or that line someone just said would be perfect to put in a movie."