Jason Hanka, Communications & Marketing Student Intern

Jason Hanka came on board the School of Kinesiology and the Communications and Marketing group (CM) this past summer at the end of June and has been our sole—and rock solid—intern since shortly thereafter. He brings strong writing and a graphic design toolset to the position. Read more about him below…

What is your work background? What is your educational background?

Currently, I am a junior majoring in linguistics. I started my college experience at Hamline University at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. At Hamline, I had been planning on creating my own linguistics major under the supervision of a board of advisors. Last year, I transferred to the U of M to pursue my BA in linguistics. Most recently, I worked as an online tutor in English and writing. Before that, I spent a number of months as a live-in caretaker for a family in Kansas City.

What are the responsibilities of your current position?

I work with the Communications and Marketing team to create content for and manage our social media and web presence. I have a mildly diverse set of responsibilities, but if it has to do with communications, I usually have a hand in it. The main focus of my work is taking submissions to KINtribute and putting them into the School’s news blog and the various streams into which it feeds, such as our web pages and social media. I work on feature stories, lately featuring notable alumni and students, conducting interviews to garner information such as where alumni are now, how they felt about their experience in Kinesiology, etc. I use my graphic design skills to create content, advertising, and social media. Recently, in the wake of our leadership transition, I spearheaded a CM internal campaign we called “Ditch the Doc” to revitalize our project management system using a program called Notion. I also initiated and maintained the CM social campaign, “Stay Connected,” to encourage students to attend classes in person. In my day-to-day, I maintain the job postings in the Undergraduate Wire, update our digital signage in the Cooke lobby, and have updated door signs around the building—whatever comes my way.

What do you like best about working here?

I love the atmosphere. I feel like I am a valued member of the team. I have a say in how things are done, and my opinions and insights are valued. Also, the position is afforded a lot of independence and flexibility. As long as I’m getting things done, there doesn’t need to be a lot of hand-holding or micromanaging. But if there should be something I’d want or need, the support is there. I never have to feel reluctant to ask a question.

What are you looking forward to learning in your position?

Well, I’ve already learned a lot, so I hope to continue learning. I’ve learned many valuable soft skills related to effective communication and working in an office environment. I feel much more comfortable and confident in navigating the world because of many of the skills I’ve practiced here. As for the more concrete, I hope to continue to hone my graphic design skills. I also hope to become increasingly familiar with the evolving variety of software apps used by CM.

Tell us about you!

I grew up in the small town of Cannon Falls, MN. I come from a large family, of which I am the youngest. I have five brothers and one sister. I briefly lived in Oklahoma City and Kansas City, but now reside in Brooklyn Park. I am interested in all things art. I love music and boast an exceedingly eclectic taste. I’ve maintained a digital mailing list of daily doodles that I’ve sent out to friends and acquaintances every day since August of 2019. My favorite word is “jovial.” My favorite color is blue. I adore cats!

Do you have a special talent or interest that might surprise someone?

Although it may not be surprising, many people are intrigued when I tell them about my hobby of “conlanging.” Conlanging is the art of creating constructed languages. It is a perfect marriage of my intense passion for linguistics, my creativity and my drive to create art. Think J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Elvish” or Dothraki, or Klingon. I’ve been interested in language my entire life and as a kid, I was intrigued by codes and writing systems, doing things like making codes to pass secret notes with my friends. By the summer before my freshman year I had been studying and learning to read various writing systems including Cyrillic, Greek, and Hebrew. And knowing I would need to learn Spanish for college I began to study its grammatical constructs. With my existing interest in linguistics and having learned the IPA [International Phonetic Alphabet], it was natural for me to wonder if and how letter forms are related to their sound, and quickly discovered they could be, in writing systems called “featural scripts.” Researching further led me to Tolkien’s constructed language Quenya and a script used to write it called Tengwar…and then opened the floodgates to the world of conlanging.

Any final words of wisdom?

My personal credo that I live by is, “Assume the best intentions and love well.” Also, practice “floor time.” Lie on the floor for 15 minutes every day. It shifts your perspective and how you see the world. It helps to slow down the pace of life and clear your thoughts.

Come see Jason in 204 and exchange a word or two … or tres, or .