(Profile story)
Courtney Henkel (l) talks to Kyle Vareberg (r), while Laura Kapaun works on her computer.Photo taken by Kayley Erlandson
She’s ten minutes late. Courtney Henkel, an active student at Valley City State University, comes bustling through the door of Kolstoe Hall, subtly favoring her left leg.
“Have you been waiting long?” she asks, then goes into a comical story explaining her reason for her lateness, unpacks her sidebag, and prepares to go on duty as a Resident Assistant, one of the many hats she wears. There is hardly an activity that Henkel isn’t involved in. She holds leadership positions on the Viking Campus Activity Board, Student Senate, Theatre Club, Improv Club, and works in the Student Affairs Office.
As she finishes listing off each of her positions, several people come to the front desk at Kolstoe, where Henkel is on sitting on duty. They pepper Henkel with questions before making themselves at home in the front desk area while they wait for her to stop talking.
Even though Henkel holds many positions of influence over student life, she doesn’t think of herself as a role model, believing that students see her as “The Man” instead of a cool parental/friend figure.
“They don’t look up to me, but I feel like they (students) think that they can’t be themselves around me. Like I’m going to nark on them or something.”
Despite Henkel’s allegations that others do not want to emulate her, she relays several stories where she had to help people with their personal problems, even “helping a guy pick between two girls”.
“Courtney is very much a people-person. People just kind of flock to her,” Kyle Vareberg, a student at Valley City State University who has worked with Henkel on a few projects, said.
Although Henkel presents herself is a confident and competent manner, she insists that the journey toward her current state of mind was a long road. After her parents divorced when Henkel was a baby, her childhood was filled with daily bullying about her weight.
“My mom would always tell me, when they insult you, just shoot them back. I used to just ignore the bullies. But it helped to make sure that the friends you had liked you for who you were.”
Henkel’s mother died when Henkel was only 12 years old, and she went to live with her aunt and uncle in Buffalo. She felt as though she’d been “thrown” into a new family where adjusting was difficult for both her and the people she was living with.
Henkel adjusted to life with her aunt and uncle and believes she’s a stronger person because of it. “God never gives you what you can’t handle”, her personal motto. “It’s something I live by and totally believe in. God has a plan for everything.”
When asked why she sometimes noticeably favors one leg over the other, Henkel replied that she hurt her ankle in high school after one of her friends fell on it while they were sledding and it has never fully recovered.
As the interview comes to a close and the last question has been asked, Henkel immediately switches into her role as a VCAB governor, planning the next event and shooting off a couple of e-mails. Every hat that she wears is asks something new of her every day, but switching between each of those hats seems to come just as naturally as breathing.
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