Junior Nina Butts is a media production and communication major from Hartland. She is interested in the multimedia field and her experience as editor of The Echo is helping her develop leadership skills. In addition, Nina says her time at The University of Olivet has helped her leave her comfort zone thanks to her involvement in Greek life, the Global Citizen Honors Program and other clubs and organizations.
Learn more about Nina’s experience as a Comet.
So far, my experience as a Comet has made me more outgoing and willing to try things that I never previously thought about. When I was in high school, I’m not sure I knew the purpose of Greek life, and I never really thought about joining. Now it’s one of the biggest parts of my life, and I’m glad I made the choice to be part of it.
I am involved in the Alpha Lambda Epsilon Greek society, and I used to be involved in the Optimist Club and Common Ground. I am also editor of The Echo, the student-run newspaper. I enjoyed being in both the Optimist Club and Common Ground because I like doing community service and I had fun planning events for Common Ground. I am a member of the Global Citizen Honors Program as well, and received a full-tuition scholarship from the program.
My major is media production and communication (MPC), but prior to 2020 it was called journalism and mass communication. I still don’t know exactly what I want to do after graduation, but I can see myself doing any kind of multimedia work and then just ending up in my lifelong career by taking an opportunity I see from there. The Echo really helped me develop leadership and communication skills; I was really shy before coming to Olivet, and I still am, but The Echo really forced me to be a good leader.
My professors in the MPC program, Professor Joanne Williams and Professor Daine Pavloski, really help me with trying to figure out exactly what skills I want to improve in my major. They emphasize being a multimedia creator. Now that the major has changed, emphasizing being a multimedia creator really helps people like myself who don’t know what they want to do with media yet try out different aspects of it find that thing that they’re interested in the most.
One of my most memorable experiences at The University of Olivet was a trip to Japan during the spring Intensive Learning Term of my first year. I still talk about that trip because I made some great friends along the way, and I had wanted to travel to Japan for a while. That was also my first time being out of the country without my parents. I was nervous about being alone on the trip, but that wasn’t an issue at all. The trip really helped me become more independent, and I hope I get the opportunity to travel with the College again.
I would tell high school students to get involved with anything they come across. There are things that you might not seem interested in, but you should at least try them for a semester before deciding to quit. Olivet is especially small and it might seem like there’s nothing to do, but there’s a lot to get involved in and you’ll get more recognition and attention for what you’re involved in because the community is so tight-knit.
I would encourage a high school student who’s really looking to stand out to come to The University of Olivet. If they really hate the idea of blending in at a big college, or if they feel like they won’t get enough one-on-one time with their professors, they should definitely come here.
I would like to thank everyone who gave me an opportunity to try something new while I have been at OC. As a high school senior, I really wanted to go to a big college and blend in with others because I felt like I had been tokenized too much in high school. Now I feel like I’m getting recognized for things I want to be recognized for.
Learn more about The University of Olivet by contacting the Office of Admission at 269-749-7635 or admissions@uolivet.edu.
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