Jena Hinman loves camping.
Her coworker, Bailey Thomas said over the summer Hinman went on a camping trip for multiple weeks with friends in California.
“She is all about outdoor stuff,” Thomas said.
Hinman, who is a part-time student in her second year at the University of Idaho, is studying English as a second language. The transfer student from North Idaho College plans to teach English in a foreign country once she is finished with school.
Hinman works as a student-employee at Starbucks in the VandalStore. She said it is hard to balance some of the corporate rules as well as the VandalStore rules, but they manage, even with some of the hidden menu items that Starbucks offers.
Diamond Koloski | Argonaut
Junior Jena Hinman works at Starbucks regularly while attending college.
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Junior Jena Hinman happily rings up an order for one of her many customers at the Starbucks on campus.
“We get lots of requests for things we don’t do, like Italian sodas and carbonated drinks,” Hinman said. “We are just too small to offer those.”
Hinman said she sees all kinds of different people during her shifts, and a minimum of 100 different people everyday. She said she has regulars come in, who generally work for the university, but she also gets people who come in just for the seasonal drinks.
“Some people only come in for pumpkin spice,” Hinman said. “And that is totally fine.”
Hinman, most recently from Coeur D’Alene, said she grew up as an “army brat,” and lived in six different states including California, Kentucky and Kansas. She has lived the last 10 years of her life in Idaho. This is her home.
Despite traveling so much as a child, Hinman said she always liked the experience. For her high school graduation she and her mother went on a two-week backpacking trip through France, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Her passion for traveling also shaped what Hinman’s next steps in life are. Hinman said she plans to apply for a job as a flight attendant, and her ideal position would be as a flight attendant on international flights. She said she is currently taking German to make herself more competitive for those types of jobs.
Hinman also said learning languages has been an interest of hers.
“I enjoy taking languages apart and figuring out what makes them work,” Hinman said.
Working as a student employee has given Hinman a lot of confidence, she said. She especially finds it easier to talk to professors and administrators. Hinman makes coffee for some of the upper administrators — they drink coffee just like everyone else.
Thomas, who has worked with Hinman for a year at Starbucks, said the three words to describe Hinman are positive, intuitive and clumsy.
“She has the most workplace accidents,” Thomas said.
Thomas said Hinman is an employee that is sometimes taken advantage of because she works hard, she shows up early, leaves late and is always positive.
“Some people do the bare minimum, but Jena tries to make everything better,” Thomas said.
Thomas said it is important to not take the first interaction with Hinman for granted because there is a story behind everything that she does.
“She is pretty rad,” Thomas said.
Hinman said she hopes to work in Germany once she finishes her education. From there who knows, but she said she has a specific location in mind while she saves up her retirement fund.
“I plan to retire in Switzerland,” Hinman said. “Since it’s super expensive to live there, it must mean I was successful in my life, right?”
Claire Whitley can be reached at
or on Twitter @Cewhitley24