 "Photo: Erin Benkoil")
Freshman Erin Benkoil spends her summers in Avon-By-the-Sea, N.J., a tiny beach town that she considers herself lucky to call home. She has worked at a mini-golf course for the last few summers, and when she's not doling out golf balls, she's reading magazines or mastering Sudoku.
"A couple summers ago, I filled up an entire book," Benkoil says. "I did them everyday."
She's an art major who takes much of her inspiration from the beach and the ocean. She often watches "A Brokedown Melody," a surfing documentary produced by Jack Johnson's production company. Although she doesn't consider herself an intense surfer, Benkoil does know how to surf.
She says she misses the ocean when she's in Delaware, and has several posters in her room to remind her of Avon.
"It's so hard - ask anyone," Benkoil says. "My walls are covered in wave stuff. Even when I'm at home, I just like to have the luxury of driving down Ocean Avenue and looking at the beach."
Her music tastes are non-discriminating.
"I like everything, which I know everybody says, but it's true," Benkoil says.
She cites Nirvana, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lily Allen, Coldplay and Sia as some of her favorite artists. She especially enjoys listening to Sia when she's working on her art.
"I like Sia," Benkoil says. "She was in Zero 7 - their music is very tranquil and relaxing."
Although being an art major takes up most of her time, Benkoil still finds time to read. She's reading Kurt Cobain's "The Journals," which she borrowed from a friend and describes as really good.
For lighter reading, Benkoil enjoys celebrity magazines, especially People Magazine and Star Magazine. She accumulated a numerous issues of the magazines, which covered the windowsill in her residence hall room until she finally took them home over winter break.
She also enjoys watching TV, particularly "The Real Housewives of Orange County" and "The Hills." One of her friends, who is friends with Peter on "The City," regularly appears on the show.
Her favorite movie is "Erin Brockovich," she says, "and not just because we have the same initials."
Benkoil says one of the most frustrating things about being an art major is that there are no set deadlines.
"You do a project, and then it's the next thing and the next thing," she says. "You're not done until the end of the semester."
She's taking a math class this semester, which she thought she would hate. However, she has found having a syllabus and weekly assignments refreshing.
You won't find Benkoil killing time in The Scrounge or number-crunching in the library. She doesn't have a favorite on-campus hangout, and she hasn't tried many of
the restaurants around Newark yet. She likes Mexican food, and would like to try one of the Mexican restaurants on Main Street - whether it's California Tortilla or Santa Fe Mexican Grill.
Like any older sister, Benkoil has a hot-and-cold relationship with her younger brother, who's 12.
"I feel like he picks on me, but he doesn't really," she says.
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