By Cheryl Patrick Staff Writer
TERRE HAUTE — Ever since Megan Anderson was a little girl she has known what she wanted to be when she grew up.
“I’ve always known I wanted to be a writer. I started a novel when I was 10. It didn’t get too far though,” she said.
Anderson, a former Hamlet resident, is working on making her childhood dream a reality.
“I want to write creative nonfiction books like “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. Most of my books will focus on historical events though…,” she said.
Currently, a senior at Indiana State University (ISU), Anderson is involved in a new aspect of campus life which provides her not only with an outlet for her creativity, but a forum that will benefit others as well.
“I’m an intern in media relations. I work next to the webmaster, and he came up with this idea for a blog,” Anderson said.

“He asked if I wanted to be one of his first bloggers and I thought sure — this will be great,” she said.
For those who are not up to date on the latest technological jargon, a blog is basically a journal that is available on the Web. The activity of updating a blog is “blogging” and someone who keeps a blog is a “blogger.”
Anderson is one of several students who work on the blog. And even though their main purpose is to share part of their college experience with people who are planning to attend a college or university after high school, for Anderson it’s also another opportunity to do something she loves.
“It’s no secret I have a deep passion for writing, so this seemed like the perfect job for me. I have to post a blog at least once a week, and we are provided with video cameras so we can post vlogs (A vlog is a weblog which uses video as its primary presentation format) as well,” Anderson said.
“I accepted because I write in a journal (I’ve kept it since I was a freshman in high school) anyway, so this is just another way for me to express myself. I have a lot of fun with it,” she said.
Anderson also includes other interesting details about the activities going on in her life.
“I write about my courses, my search for a job, planning my wedding (I’m getting married to a Knox native, Phil Hamand, in May), my job as an RA (resident assistant), Union Board events, and any other adventure I may experience in Terre Haute,” Anderson said.
Since beginning the blog, Anderson has developed a new insight into the life of a college student.
“This blog gives me a fresh look, that of an outsider, on the activities I participate in at ISU,” she said.
Another positive aspect of participating in the blog is those who frequent the site — blog traffic has increased due to recent coverage from local media outlets.
“Since this blog was featured in the Terre Haute Tribune Star and the morning news show, we have been getting a lot more responses from students,” Anderson said.
 “This is still a new thing for ISU, though. We just started in January, and already we have about 60 people checking out our blogs a day,” she said.
“There are three of us blogging. One is a commuter student from Terre Haute, one lives in the halls and is from Indianapolis, and I am a resident assistant,” Anderson said
Besides being from different geographic locations, the three bloggers also have different majors and are in different phases of their educational journeys.
“The two boys are sophomores, just getting used to the college atmosphere, and I am a senior just beginning to leave the college atmosphere. The other two are insurance/risk management students, so compared to my reading and writing classes, we show different aspects of the university. We’re also involved in different organizations on campus,” she said.
Anderson considers the blog a valuable tool for would-be students because it offers them a glimpse of college life and some insight into whether or not a particular college offers what they are looking for.
“I wish this blog was available when I was trying to find the right college. High school students usually go into college with no idea what to expect. This blog makes things less scary. It shows the organizations you can get involved in, it explains the ins and outs of coursework, and it shows all the extra things you can do when you attend college. Plus, the three of us are always available to answer questions,” she said.
Maintaining the blog is just one aspect of this busy college senior’s week.
 “I work two jobs on campus: As a resident assistant in an upper classmen hall and as an intern for campus media relations. I’m also president of the biggest programming organization on campus, Union Board. Also, I will be graduating in May with a 4.0 grade point average, summa cum laude,” she said.
Next on Anderson’s agenda is what she has been working toward for many years — her career.
“I start my first job in May, as a city beat reporter for Effingham (Ill.) Daily News. I am so excited. I interviewed at a couple newspapers, and this was the job I really wanted. I was made the offer just last week. Since I want to write creative nonfiction, journalism is a major aspect in that genre. So this job will give me the interviewing and investigating skills needed for my dream. Plus, I’ve wanted to be a newspaper reporter since I was 15,” Anderson said.
Anyone who is curious about college and what it has to offer can find a wealth of information by logging on to the ISU blog  http://blogs.indstate.edu/wpmu/
Anderson is the daughter of Mark and Joyce Anderson. These former Hamlet residents now reside in Knox.