A typical college student’s day involves going to class, surfing the Internet instead of doing homework, getting pizza with friends and then rounding out the day by watching old sitcom reruns.

For Lauren Onkey, the vice president of education at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a typical day includes teaching third graders about rock and roll, organizing a new program, interviewing Heart and attending an event where stars are present.

On Feb. 3, Onkey will be visiting Otterbein to talk with students in a continuation of lectures centered around the Common Book this year, “City of Refuge.” Onkey’s lecture will be held in Riley Auditorium from 3:05-4 p.m.

How did you come to work at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

I was an English professor for a long time at Ball State in Indiana. I became aware of this really interesting-sounding job at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame overseeing the education programs, which included teaching some K-12 students, some college students and the general public. It seemed like an incredible opportunity to teach at many levels and to teach to a wide audience.

What is your favorite program that you have been involved in with your position?

One of my favorite programs is one called the American Music Masters. It is a program that we do every November. We honor one of our inductees. We teach classes to kids and adults, we do interviews with artists and songwriters and business people who are connected to the honoree’s career.

For example, this year when we honored Aretha Franklin, folks like Chaka Khan, Lauren Hill, Dennis Edwards from the Temptations and Ron Isley from the Isley Brothers all came in and sang a few Aretha Franklin songs in their own style. That kind of program where you bring together artists, students, academics and fans, I think, is really my favorite.

How has music affected your life?

I think music has sort of helped me figure out my life. Rock ’n’ roll has really helped me make sense of the world, whether it is the social and political world or relationships. All the voices that you hear and so many great records that I latched on to very young, so for me it has kind of been a map, probably the most important art form for me in terms of sustaining the eras that I can remember.

What did you think of the Common Book, “City of Refuge?”

I think he did a remarkable job of depicting New Orleans pre- and post-Katrina without turning it into a journalistic account. It just really feels like a novel, and I think to see characters really negotiate that was really very powerful.

How do you think New Orleans was affected by music both pre- and post-Katrina?

You know, music is really in the fabric of New Orleans life, and because of where the city is geographically, a major port city close to Latin America, the Caribbean, so many different people came to New Orleans.

So, the musical mixes that you have down there are unlike anything else that you will hear in the United States. For us here at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it is really one of the places that rock ’n’ roll is born in the early 1950s. It lives in the culture in some very interesting ways, young people being very attracted to horns and brass bands for example, and the way that the brass band has been able to absorb styles like funk and hip-hop.

Post-Katrina had so many thousands of people who had to leave the city and have not been able to come back. There is certainly a great fear about the loss of a lot of cultural traditions. It has certainly been recognized that music is a big attraction for New Orleans. But you want to be careful not to reduce the music just to a museum piece or a cliché to attract tourists. What is most vital about it is how it lives and breathes in people’s everyday lives, and I think that has hung on in New Orleans, but they took a big, big blow.

Who is your favorite person that you have met through your work?

I would hate to pick that, just since I have met such remarkable people. Aretha Franklin, Fats Domino, Les Paul, Dr. John, we had an event earlier this year with Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Smokey Robinson. What is great is that artists really want to tell their stories and do work with us, and so that’s just always a thrill.