(Photo provided) Madalynn Hinton in class at the Washington County Career Center.

BEVERLY — Studying nursing and having a long-time fascination with true crime stories, Fort Frye High School senior Madalynn Hinton has decided to combine the two after her graduation in the spring.

Hinton is enrolled in the nursing program at the Washington County Career Center.

“I started in my junior year,” she said.

In that time she had taken a number of classes in addition to the usual high school classes.

“This year I’m taking an introduction to nutrition and human diseases and last year I took ethics and got my STNA, state testing nursing assistant, but this year it changed to CNA, certified nursing assistant.”

(Photo provided) Madalynn Hinton at bat for the Fort Frye Cadets softball team.

Although she has not graduated from high school, she is a certified nursing assistant. However, her future career plans go beyond the nursing field.

“I want to go into forensic psychology,” Hinton said. “In that field I will be a psychologist working with people who have committed crimes. I will get a look into their minds to see why they did what they did and what is going on in their brain.”

She said she became interested in forensic psychology because of a long-time fascination.

“I have been really fascinated by true crime and I’ve wanted to be a part of investigations and be a part of a case,” she said. “So, growing up I wanted to be a part of forensics but I didn’t know what part I wanted to go into, I didn’t know what I wanted to do fully.

“But now I know I want to be a psychologist so I put those two together and I was like psychology sounds like perfect for me.”

(Photo provided) In her senior portrait is Madalynn Hinton.

Hinton said she decided on the nursing program because she believed it would be a good way to make it into the medical field.

“When I got to high school I knew I wanted to go into the medical field as well,” she said. “I also heard the career center was a good start for a career.”

She added she was inspired by her sister who went to the career center.

“My sister went through the nursing program as well,” she said. “She told me all about it and she thought it would be good for me. I went and I just love it and I love being involved and I love being hands on.”

Hinton said she has been looking at different colleges but has not decided on a school.

(Photo provided) At catcher for the Fort Frye Cadets was Madalynn Hinton.

“I have applied to a couple of colleges for psychology. I’m trying to decide which one I’m more set to,” she said. “I have applied to Kent State and Muskingum University, among others I am considering Ohio University and WVU-Parkersburg.

“I haven’t applied to Marietta College yet, but I’m wanting to.”

Since she is taking college courses at the career center she will have a few hours of college credit when she graduates. She added much of what she has taken will transfer but she is not sure what credits will transfer.

“I may have to take a few classes again, so I’ll be a little ahead of the others,” she said.

In addition to being a student at the Washington County Career Center, Hinton is considered to be a student at Fort Frye High School where she is a member of the softball team.

(Photo provided) The Fort Frye Cadet softball team.

“I’ve been playing softball since I was in the fourth grade,” she said. “I’m usually the catcher or shortstop, but most of the time I play catcher.”

Hinton said she likes playing softball because it gives her a feeling of being a part of something.

“It’s being able to be part of a team and actually feel what it’s like to be a part of something,” she said. “We’ve become really close.”

Hinton said she does not plan to pursue softball while in college.

“I probably won’t play at college due to me going into psychology,” she said. “I don’t want to overload myself with that.”

(Photo provided) Madalynn Hinton is usually behind the plate for the softball team, but at times she plays shortstop.

She is also the secretary for the National Technical Honor Society at the center and is a student ambassador.

(Photo provided) At shortstop was Madalynn Hinton.