Mt. Pleasant, SC – Haley Heinkel grew up in North Alabama in the small community of Arab where she developed her love for English and Creative Writing. She will be putting her love on display as the newest member of the faculty at Oceanside Collegiate Academy during the 2023-24 academic year.
Heinkel was an avid competition dancer and was involved in theatre and the arts in addition to being a standout on the beauty pageant circuit, earning the title of Miss UNA in 2018 and Miss Marshall County in 2019, leading to a spot in the Miss Alabama pageant.
Heinkel attended the University of North Alabama (UNA) in Florence, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with a minor in Professional Writing. She enjoyed being involved in many campus activities while she served as Miss UNA 2018 and was a member of the UNA Dance Team.
She was the recipient of the UNA 2019 Academic Achievement Award in English and worked for the UNA Writing Center as an English tutor. After graduation, she was a member of the Disney College Program and worked at Disney World in Orlando during the Fall of 2019. Also during her time at UNA she worked as a writer and editor for Shoals Soul Magazine and was a “featured poet” in one edition of the publication.
Heinkel completed her master’s degree in creative writing with a poetry focus at UNA in 2021. During her graduate studies, she served as a UNA Graduate Teaching Assistant, teaching English 101 and 102 university courses.
"Mrs. Heinkel will fit right in our school culture as a go-getter,” OCA principal Christina Brown said. “Her versatility teaching high school and college courses paired with a fierce determination and passion benefits our students tremendously."
Heinkel married her husband in Abe 2021 and moved to South Carolina with her cat for a new adventure and to explore the beautiful beaches. She taught sophomore and senior level English Honors courses at Colleton High School last year and is so excited to begin teaching at Oceanside,
In addition to teaching at Oceanside, Heinkel will also be an Adjunct Professor at Charleston Southern University where she will be teaching an online course in freshman composition.
With a passion for literature, poetry and writing, Heinkel is proud to join the Oceanside family and looks forward to applying her skills to inspire and prepare Landsharks students for high school graduation and college.
About Oceanside Collegiate Academy: Oceanside Collegiate Academy (OCA), located in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., serves high school students in a safe, small and family-centered setting. Our students seek the opportunity and challenge of rigorous curriculum, high academic standards and elite athletics while earning up to two years of college credit. OCA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades
Learn more about OCA by visiting our website at OceansideCollegiateAcademy.org and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channel.