Wednesday – 2:38 to 2:39 p.m. Relax with a bottle of water.

All right, that entry doesn’t exist in Crystal Hoppe’s meticulous planner, but no one would be surprised if it did.

Hoppe practically must plan her whole life to simultaneously handle serving as senior Panhellenic representative of the Alpha Phi Sorority, student coordinator of the Greek Leadership Institute, co-chair of the Greek Week Committee, Student Association senator and finance committee member, Comm-Sac Newsletter committee chair, general member of the Association of Women in Communication and student worker in the University Programming and Activities office.

The sophomore journalism and communication double major said being involved has made her a better, more fulfilled person.

“It gives you something to do,” she said. “My first semester here was really hard for me because in high school I was extremely involved. In Key Club, I was a Lt. Governor for Wisconsin and upper Michigan. So I had 18 schools that I dealt with. Every week, I was giving speeches at different high schools advocating for volunteer services. When I came here, I had so much time on my hands because I just had classes. I was just bored out of my mind. So I took it upon myself to get involved. It helps me manage my time better and makes me more responsible.”

Christopher Juhl, activities adviser for Greek Affairs, said Hoppe truly is special because of her level of commitment.

“Crystal, hands down, has to be one of the most active students I know,” he said. “The fact that she is a sophomore and has been doing this since her first semester is what blows me and others away. She is always trying to find a way to include people. She’s a good, selfless person. She wants to make the most out of her college career.”

Hoppe loves being able to have an impact on students’ lives.

“I love my classes, but I actually get to accomplish things in my organizations,” she said. “Even though it was a tough position, sitting on the finance committee taught me a lot of things about organizations on campus. I actually feel like I made a difference and helped out other organizations.”

Many of those organizations are Greek related. Hoppe doesn’t consider herself a typical sorority girl and questions if there is such a thing.

“I get a lot of crap from people back home,” she said. “Anyone who knows me knows that I am not the stereotype. It’s just amazing to me to be put into that stereotype when I know so many people – so many of my sisters and fraternity boys – who don’t fit the stereotype. It gets frustrating, but you just need to know who you are and know that it’s not the person you are inside.”

A lot of who Hoppe is comes from her family, although it hasn’t always been easy. Her father Tim suffered an accident while she was in high school and now is paraplegic. She credits her mother Diana for keeping the family together and being a rock for them.

“Family is very important to me,” she said. “I have always known through every hardship that you go through that your family is who you always come back to. I have lost friends and other family members. No matter what happens, be it switching schools or anything hard, I always have known that they are there no matter what. I think it’s extremely important to keep them close and have a good relationship with them.”

The native of Waukesha, Wis., said it’s up to students to make college a positive experience.

“Being from out of state, you get a lot of comments like, ‘Why did you come to Northern? God, it’s Northern,'” she said. “An experience is what you make it. You can go to a two-year community college and be extremely successful if you do it the right way, if you get involved and put your heart into it. I think there are a lot of people who aren’t motivated to do the right things. I think you need to find something that you can motivate yourself to do and go for it 150 percent.”

After college, Hoppe hopes to be a motivational speaker.