It seems like this is the time of the year when the most reflection happens. When we look back over the past semester, past year, or past four years and sigh. This is the time of the semester when things are wrapping up and life is changing. While I did think about doing a final reflection-esque post, I decided against it.
Instead I want to thank each and everyone of y’all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting HCA as it went from an idea, to a concept, to what it is today—and everything in between. As part of a national contest, the editorial staff and I had to figure out what are greatest accomplishments this year have been, and I’ll be honest the task daunted me. Why? Because HCA is my pride and joy. Blood, sweat and a lot of tears have gone into this for me and for a lot of others.
So I want to say thank you. Thank you for Liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter and just checking out the site every few days, because without y’all, this list of accomplishments would be meaningless, not to mention nonexistent. With the tremendous help of Alex Goolsby, our copy editor and my right hand in most situations, I present to you HCA’s three biggest accomplishments this year.
Our branch’s biggest accomplishment has been the tremendous success we’ve had after launching November 28, 2011. Each week, we are so excited to see our traffic numbers and know we are making a splash on our campus. We are consistently getting new Likes on our Facebook page, as well as new followers on both our Twitter page and our Pinterest boards. Our staff of 30 has been thrilled with our success. Without a lot of funding and at an SEC school of 30,000 students, we have worked hard to make Her Campus Alabama the name on every collegiette’s lips.
Our second greatest accomplishment has been our branch’s partnership with T-Town PAWS, a local no-kill animal shelter. We wanted to highlight the organization’s efforts and help the animals there find homes. Each month, we feature one dog and one cat by posting pictures of the animals and telling our readers a little about their personality. We also supported T-Town PAWS through a fashion show we hosted on April 3, 2012, where students modeled outfits donated by local boutiques. The donations at the door covered the food and medicine for our February Stray of the Month, Shasta, for one month.
Our third greatest accomplishment has been our all-time high of 4,724 traffic hits the week of February 12-18, 2012. After meeting at an event on campus, we managed to secure yet another partnership, this time with local radio station 94.1 ZBQ. I’ve promoted our branch on air at 94.1 ZBQ several times, with the first time being during the week of our highest page views. Our staff is very grateful for the opportunity to work with the station, especially since their support bumped our numbers up exponentially and garnered new HCA supporters.
Now, besides looking back on this year and all we’ve accomplished, I do have an ulterior motive. As I said in the beginning our branch is entered into a national contest—Campus to Contiki! HCA is up against the big dogs. I need your votes, desperately. It is in y’alls hands about who wins. You’ve watched HCA grow. You’ve loved us. Now help us win! It is SOOOOO simple. Click this link. Click U of Alabama, Jessica Johnson, then submit your vote. You’re done. Brownie points go to those that vote each day, as you can vote once a day, everyday! It could be the trip of a lifetime for me. More importantly, it means you really have seen our hard work and recognize it! (Also, your votes show Nationals HCA is really connecting to Alabama collegiettes.)
My tenure as HCA’s fearless editor in chief has been amazing. Thank you for being our readers as, without you, we would be nothing. I’m here until the end of the summer, so feel free to drop us a note, as we always love hearing from y’all. I pray you will continue to stick with us during exams, over the summer and in the years to come.