Caitlyn Hinnerschitz
Name: Caitlyn Hinnerschitz
Hometown: Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Year in School: Freshman
Major: Elementary Education
Like many others, Caitlyn Hinnerschitz wants to become a teacher. However, her aspirations differ from your typical elementary education student. For one, she wants to stay in the Grand Strand area upon graduation and use the skills she learned in Horry County to help those in Horry County. In an even more admirable sense, she wants to teach in a school that primarily services children from low-income families. As you can probably surmise, Caitlyn is a special person.
“I love to help others grow and flourish,” Caitlyn says when explaining her passion for teaching, “and to know that I could be the reason for someone being successful one day just makes my heart happy.”
Only a freshman, it did not take Caitlyn long to test out her future career firsthand. Bolstered by her standing as a South Carolina Teaching Fellow, she found her way into classrooms at a couple different area schools in just her first semester. At this pace, can you imagine the experience she will have under her belt the day she graduates?
Besides her drive for teaching, Caitlyn has other interests. She is a dedicated dancer and enjoys other activities such as writing, working out and listening to music. Her calling card is her laugh, though. She calls it “so obnoxious that it is infectious.” So, if you hear an unmistakable laugh on campus, make sure to follow it and introduce yourself to Caitlyn.
Q&A with Caitlyn
How did you hear about Coastal?: I heard about CCU because I am a local resident in the Myrtle Beach area.
Why did you come to Coastal?: Since we moved to South Carolina eight years ago I knew that I wanted to attend CCU. For most of my life I also knew that I wanted to have a career in education. Coastal Carolina’s Spadoni College of Education is top of the line, and when I received the CERRA SC Teaching Fellowship specifically for CCU it solidified that I had found my home for the next several years.
Favorite professor: Betsy Costner
Favorite class: Pyschology 101
Favorite aspect of Coastal?: My favorite aspects of Coastal are the opportunities that students are granted to help them succeed academically (such as the Writing Center and field experiences).
Favorite aspect of living in the Conway/Myrtle Beach area?: My favorite aspect of living in the Carolina Forest area is being twenty minutes away from anywhere. If I want to go to the beach to de-stress it’s only a short ride away!
Clubs/Intramurals/other extracurricular activities involved in?: I am involved in theCERRA’s Coastal Carolina Teaching Fellows Program and I am aRCIA Teacher at St. James Parish
Do you work anywhere currently (either on or off campus)?: I currently have two off campus jobs. I am a sales associate at “Justice” and a dance teacher at Silver Lining Dance Academy in Forestbrook.
Plans after graduation?: After graduation I plan to teach in a Title 1 school in the Conway/Myrtle Beach area and attain a graduate degree in elementary education.
What are your hobbies?: I have been dancing since the age of 3! I love to write, go to the gym and listen to music.
Do you have any hidden talents?: My laugh so obnoxious that it is infectious causing others to laugh even harder. Additionally, I took four years of figure skating lessons while living in New York.
Bonus Info: I am originally from Beacon, N.Y. I have toured/walked on the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska.