“I also really enjoyed working with the Intramural Department. I worked there for four years and was a manager when I left. That was my crew. I loved being out on the football fields in fall. Our women’s flag football independent team won the campus championship three years in a row. Those were some big highlights for me.”

For high school students considering Auburn, she recommends they “get down there and walk around on campus. I just went down there to check it out. As soon as I got on campus, I knew.”

Today, just like fans going to an Auburn ballgame, Hendy is at a major tourist destination where 11 million park visitors each year go to relax and get away from their routines. So how does she relax on her off days?

“I go boating and I like to travel,” she said. “Those are probably the two biggest things I like to do. I also like to go fishing, kayaking, camping, climbing and motorcycle riding. There’s some world-class fishing in this park and I’m excited I finally got my Tennessee driver’s license so I can finally go get a fishing license. I think I’ll be doing some fishing this fall, so that’ll be nice.”

This story originally appeared on Auburn University’s website.