Journalism students at Hillsdale have a new face in the classroom and the Collegian office for this semester.
Former Collegian editor Lauren Fink ’07 has returned to campus this semester as a temporary lecturer in journalism and adviser to the paper. She temorarily replaces Maria Servold, assistant director of the Dow Journalism Program, who is away on maternity leave this semester.
Fink is teaching Journalism 301, Introduction to Journalism, as well as advising the Collegian staff weekly on the production of the paper and grading the one-credit Journalism 380 Collegian course.
As a student, Fink helped change the identity of the Collegian.
“For many years [the Collegian] had been kind of hostile to the administration,” she said. “I thought that really needed to be changed, because the Collegian really needed to represent the student body and its view. It shouldn’t be a minority of students running the paper.”
Fink also redesigned the paper’s layout and masthead, introducing the eagle design used between 2007 and 2014.
Fink transferred to Hillsdale after attending the University of Houston on a volleyball scholarship for one year. Fink switched from volleyball to journalism, studying English and working for the Collegian as an assistant features editor and news editor before interning at the Washington Examiner in Washington, D.C.
“I feel like I was actually here during a lot of rebirth and transition, not just building-wise but actually student-population -wise,” Fink said. “The identity of Hillsdale was kinda changing, in an old-guard, new-guard moment, and students were more and more knowing who they were, and what kind of school they were coming to attend.”
After graduation, Fink was a news reporter for the Tyler Morning Telegraph in Tyler, Texas. She then moved back to Michigan and worked as a technical writer for an engineering firm, freelancing for the Jackson Citizen-Patriot, the Ann Arbor News, and the Detroit News.
Fink met her husband, Andrew Fink ’06, at Hillsdale. He is an attorney in Ann Arbor and a Marine Corps reservist staff judge advocate. They have three children, Evangeline, 4, Frederick, 3, and Dietrich, 1.
“I love staying home with my children,” Fink said. “It’s my vocation, it’s wonderful. Writing and editing on the side is also fantastic and a great job to do while you’re doing something else full time.”
Though she spends most of her time caring for her children, Fink has edited freelance for people including President Larry Arnn. She helps Arnn with books, essays, and articles he writes for publication.
“We worked out an editing relationship about two years ago so that he could have some consistent editing when he needed it, someone who knows his writing, knows his writing voice,” Fink said.
John Miller, director of the Dow Journalism Program, said Fink was selected for her proficiency in journalism fundamentals like reporting and editing, as well as her familiarity with the college.
“She understands Hillsdale,” Miller said. “She knows the mission of the college, and that’s something we can’t take for granted when we think about who works here.”
Senior Morgan Delp, Collegian editor-in-chief, said she is excited to work with someone who was both a journalist and athlete while at Hillsdale, like herself.
“She has brought so much energy and ideas into our paper, especially in terms of visual design,” Delp said.
