This Campus Celebrity is none other than our own founder, president and editor-in-chief, Kathryn Burgner. I met Kathryn this year when I joined Her Campus and wanted to interview her to find out what made her start the club, what challenges she faced, and more details about her achievements. You can learn even more about Kathryn from her AboutMe and follow her on Twitter.
Name:Kathryn Burgner
Hometown: Dalton, Ma
Major/Minor(s):Info. Design & Corporate Communications Major (PR Focus) with Marketing and Gender Studies Minors
Campus Involvement:President/Editor-in-Chief of Her Campus Bentley, Resident Assistant in Orchard South, Women’s Center member, Center for Women in Business Student Advisory Council, Commencement Planning Committee, Alpha Psi Omega Honorary Theatre Society
HCB: What made you want to bring Her Campus to Bentley?
KB:Since I was a freshman, I have been an avid Her Campus reader and I always wondered why Bentley University didn’t have its own branch like the other 200 schools that did. After my experience as an Orientation Leader last year during the summer of 2011, I knew that I felt confident with my organizational skills and knowledge of Bentley to start Her Campus. Bentley previously had no central voice for the women on campus, as many other groups were male-dominated or were more of resource groups for women. There was also no real online presence for the Bentley student body, so I felt that needed to change. I saw how successful Her Campus had been at other schools that are competitive with Bentley, so I applied to found the branch and jumped right in.
HCB:What kind of challenges have you faced being the president of Her Campus? How have you overcome them?
KB: As President of Her Campus, it’s always a challenge to balance both the “President” side of the position and the “Editor-in-Chief” side of the position, since I am technically responsible for both elements. Unlike some of the other student organizations at Bentley (with the exception of a few), HC Bentley is responsible for producing quality content each day, which is very similar to a business that needs to produce a product or service daily. Running an HC branch requires you to not only facilitate good group experiences and dynamics, but also keep tabs on the “product” that the group is producing. Luckily, my fellow executive board members are AMAZING and are so helpful when it comes to both sides of our group-the social team side and the editorial side. I’ve overcome the challenges of having multiple roles by trusting my board members (and myself) and reaching out when I need help.
HCB: What are you most proud that Her Campus has done this year?
KB: First and foremost, I am so proud that our group has become officially recognized by Bentley. This was a lengthy and difficult process, but HC Bentley came through with flying colors. It was all because of our hard work as a team and the dedication that everyone had to the group. Also, I’m really proud that our branch has been in the top ten list, on multiple occasions this year, out of over 200 schools for our high page view numbers. We have recently broken 8000 views and this month, we even made it to #5 in the nation. Although Bentley only has about 4000 undergrads, we placed higher than other larger schools across the nation. Bravo to the 2011-2012 HC Bentley team!
HCB: What do you enjoy most about Her Campus?
KB:What I enjoy most about Her Campus is the way it instills confidence in our student writers. Whether it’s the moment their first article is published or the 10th time they’ve had an article in the daily national top 10, its clear that being a part of HC makes them feel confident in themselves and their abilities. Believe it or not, as a freshman and sophomore, I was often timid and had trouble feeling confident in a competitive, fast-paced environment like Bentley has. I wish that at the time, I had a group like HC Bentley to get involved with. I love to see the freshmen and sophomores that join Her Campus grow and blossom into successful students that feel confident speaking up about their ideas and expressing them in words. I’ve seen so many HC Bentley members get job opportunities and become successful because of the confidence and skills they gained while being in the group.
HCB: What hopes do you have for the future of the group?
KB:As you may know, I’m graduating in May 2013. For my last year (2012-2013), I hope that we can build HC Bentley even higher through maintaining our nationally high traffic numbers and awesome group dynamics. I’m hoping that we can, again, host presidents from other schools and members of the National HC team for a conference at Bentley. I want to get the most out of this experience before I leave college, so I’m looking forward to working hard next year and having a great group of team members again. When I leave Bentley, I hope that our HC branch can continue to reach high and instill the confidence in women (and men) at Bentley that they need to make it through the competitive business world. I hope that HC Bentley can act as a “thought leading” group on the Bentley campus and if needed or called upon, as a mechanism for change and expression sought after by the student body.
HCB:What do you see yourself doing ten years from now?
KB: Ten years from now, I would love to be working at a high-level position in a Boston public relations or advertising agency, as well as getting my masters and doctorate degree. My hope is that for the first half of my career, I can make my name in an agency, focusing on communications and public relations. Then, later in my career and after I mostly raise my family, I would love to work in the non-profit industry and put my skills toward a cause I believe in, such as healthy body images for girls and fair representation of women in the media and political sphere. Through it all, I’m hoping to rejoin an a cappella group in the Boston area to continue my love for the arts and music. However, I’m one to make elaborate plans and then adapt them as time goes on, so who knows where life will take me!
HCB:How about a couple fun facts? Favorite food, tv show, any celeb crushes?
KB:
Favorite Food:Although they are not the healthiest, my favorite foods would have to be tied at BLTs and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
Favorite TV show: I LOVE Gossip Girl. I acknowledge that it is against a lot of things I believe in and work for, but it’s my guilty pleasure!
Celeb Crush:No offense to Miley, but definitely Liam Hemsworth who plays “Gale” in the Hunger Games.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bentley chapter.