Looking around her room, you will immediately notice as one of the most prominent features two tall shelves filled with books. Glancing along the shelves, you will find hundreds of books ranging in title from "All the King’s Men" to "Baseball and Philosophy" to "Ask me Anything about the U.S. Presidents" to the "AP Stylebook". Simply by examining the kinds of books she reads, you can learn a lot about the kind of person Carolyn Kurek is.

Carolyn is a 21-year-old senior at Hofstra University majoring in print journalism. She knew early on in her life that she would somehow be connected to newspapers. "In fourth grade, I started a small newspaper for my school," she said. "It wasn’t a big thing, just a monthly paper with features on the students and teachers and upcoming events."

In 1993, Carolyn moved to Long Island, where she currently resides with her parents and 16-year-old sister. Here she created and edited a newspaper for her new school, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Bellmore. "It was then that I sort of knew that I loved to write, but I didn’t have the stamina to write long novels and things of that nature," she said, "but I could write shorter pieces like newspaper articles." While at Hofstra, she shifted her focus away from writing and reporting and more towards copy editing. "I think I’m too shy ever to be a decent reporter. I’m afraid to ask difficult questions," Carolyn commented. "Editing allows me to continue to be creative and at the same time, not to be as nervous as I am when I’m intervÅiewing and reporting."

This summer, Carolyn worked as an intern at the Massapequa Post newspaper. There she worked on both editing and reporting. "I’m grateful I got the opportunity to work there," she said. "Now I know that editing is really something I want to look into as a career. That kind of certainty is very important to me."

Carolyn considers herself a good student and a bit of an overachiever. She currently has a 3.94 grade point average and is a member of numerous honor societies, including Hofstra’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

According to Carolyn, her perfect day would be spending a beautiful sunny afternoon at Shea Stadium watching a ballgame with her family. She is a passionate Met fan and has suffered with the team on a full-time basis since 1995.

"Baseball is my number one hobby," she said. "I can’t seem to get away from it. The Mets disappoint me every year but I keep coming back." She has hundreds of thousands of baseball cards and 25 or so autographed balls, not to mention that she has read dozens of books on the subject.

"Just call me a ‘student of the game,’" Carolyn said with a smile. In fact, this fall, she really will be. Hofstra’s history department is offering a course entitled "Baseball and America," and when she heard about it, Carolyn jumped right on board.

Her new pastime is fantasy sports, including a fantasy baseball team whose name is the "Hot Toddies," after her two favorite all-time Mets, Todd Hundley and Todd Zeile.

She loves to read and, aside from baseball, her favorite topic to read about is presidential politics. Carolyn’s top three presidents of all time are Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and James Polk. "I feel Polk is the best president nobody knows anything about," she added.

As she enters her last year at college, Carolyn is going to have to start answering difficult questions about her future very soon, but for now, she feels like she is on the right track and is very happy about her current station in life. "Right now," she mused, pointing to her bookshelves, "my goal is just to plow through all these books before the end of the summer."

Jacqueline Linger

Jacqueline Linger grew up in Bay Shore and graduated from Bay Shore High School where she played the clarinet and was a member of the marching band. The 23 year old is looking for a full time job as a journalist after graduating from SUNY New Paltz and completing an internship with the Massapequa Post, Amityville Record and Babylon Beacon newspapers.

"It’s exciting to see my name in print," said Jacqueline after one of her articles was published. "It gives me the extra push to get a job as a writer."

Jacqueline graduated in August as a journalism major. She became interested in journalism after earning her associates degree from Suffolk Community College. She enjoys writing and considered majoring in English, but decided to go into journalism when she transferred to SUNY New Paltz and had the opportunity to explore their program.

"I loved marching band," said Jacqueline in recalling her years at Bay Shore High School. "It made the whole high school experience much better."

Jacqueline competed in completions and marched in parades in Bay Shore and New York City. One of her most memorable experiences was playing with the band at an athletic event at West Point.

When Jacqueline isn’t completing assignments for her internship, you’ll find her reading or playing golf. She usually plays golf at the Dix Hills Country Club or the Heartland Golf Course in Deer Park. She also enjoys going out with friends on weekends.

And, when not enjoying those pass times, she is doing what many new graduates are doing—sending out resumes. She hopes to land a full-time job working for a newspaper.

After experiencing what it’s like to work for a community newspaper, Jacqueline said she wouldn’t mind starting out at a smaller paper.

"I just want someone to give me a shot," she said.

And if that means packing up and leaving Long Island, she said she’s prepared to do that as well, looking to move as far away as California some day to pursue her dream.

Cindy Priester

Once the host of her own a.m. radio show and a contestant on American Idol, 23-year-old Cindy Priester has spent her summer working as a journalism intern, writing, reporting and interviewing

A senior at the State University of New York at New Paltz, she is a resident of Massapequa Park and decided she’d like to complete the internship, which is part of her educational curriculum requirements, at her hometown newspaper.

Since she’s started at the paper, she has written obituaries, completed copy editing assignments and learned what it takes to put together a weekly, community newspaper.

"I enjoy writing articles but my strength is in editing," said Priester in discussing what she has learned over the past semester.

Though she is majoring in radio and television at school, her minor is

journalism. As a student at New Paltz, she had an a.m. radio show called "Cinbaddd’s Metal Shop," where she was able to play some rock and metal and gain experience in a field she hopes to get into one day.

"Though I’m leaning more towards radio for the future there is a possibility of going into newspapers," said Priester who has also learned to keep her options open.

Priester picked New Paltz because of it’s good communication program, it’s proximity to the island and its reasonable tuition costs. She enjoys the teachers and classes and lives on campus.

Though she only has one semester left before graduating, she’s not looking forward to going back for the fall semester.

"I don’t want to leave, I’m having too much fun with my friends" she said.

Before SUNY New Paltz, Cindy attended Nassau County Community College. She received her associate’s degree in liberal arts.

This is Cindy’s second internship. Before this, she participated in an internship at the Long Island radio station WBAB, where she helped with promotions. Unfortunately for her, the station did not give her the production experience she was looking for.

In her free time, Cindy enjoys shopping, going out with her friends, and karaoke. She enjoys singing so much that she entered local talent contests, as well as the popular, nationwide contest American Idol. After appearing on the show, she did receive some local fame when people came up to her saying they recognized her from the show. Though she didn’t make it past the first round, she talks about it with pride and a sense of achievement.

For her future, Cindy hopes to work for a radio station one day. A radio station on Long Island would be ideal, she said, because she wants to stay close to her family and friends.

After a great experience at the Post, Record and Beacon, however, she’s broadened her options and would consider a position in print media.