Christine Hawkinson spent over 30 years in a variety of communications roles with retailers, health care organizations, and in higher education. She has written and edited website content, emails, online courses, training guides, and video scripts. She earned a master’s degree in family and consumer journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a thesis centered on communications about youth sports injuries.
In 2022, Hawkinson published her book, “50 Years in the Bleachers—What Modern Sports Parents Can Learn From a Title IX Pioneer.” She takes the reader on her family’s journey through the evolution youth sports: from her dad’s time playing on dirt courts at a Chicago neighborhood park, to her experience as one of the first girls to play basketball for her high school, to the pay-for-play culture she navigated when her daughters played.
Writing her family’s story led Hawkinson to explore the personal essay. Her first, ‘Begin the Beguine,” was published in Creative Wisconsin Magazine in 2025.
My writing journey
I became a writer at the age of seven when my mother bought me a spiral notebook to fill with poems. Looking out the window from my seat at an old lift-top school desk, I dreamed of writing a book someday.
My two favorite days at school were the day got we the flyers from Scholastic describing books we could order—and the day our books arrived. Scouring the descriptions and narrowing my choices beat the thrill of online ordering any day. I read voraciously and enjoyed language arts and literature classes, but gave no thought to how I might earn a living as a writer.
After being derailed by the allure of an accounting career, I earned my degree in marketing and became the go-to person for writing projects at work. But my positions never felt quite right until I earned a master’s degree and settled into dedicated roles of writer or editor. At last tally, I’ve had nine full-time and four part-time jobs since college, plus I owned a gift basket business for seven years. I struggled to find work-life balance and fulfilling work. Maybe I’m a Gen Z-Baby Boomer?
My best role ever was raising two amazing women with my husband. And my greatest accomplishment was writing my book, mostly one hour at a time over 10 years. I may not have published it had it not been for the pandemic. I gained two hours in my day not commuting, and the money I saved in gas and parking fees paid an editor and proofreader.
Focusing on my book during the pandemic, I learned the true importance of having a purpose and following our desire. I felt lost once the writing and editing were done, not sure what to write next. Until I took a seminar about personal essays.
Now I sit at another bedroom window, seated at an antique writing table, writing essays and dreaming of another book.
My first published essay
Read Begin the Beguine on p.58 of Creative Wisconsin, March 2025.