Ariana Annunziato, a pre-junior communications major with a minor in Spanish, is Her Campus at Drexel’s co-campus correspondent and editor-in-chief. Ariana recently had the opportunity to be a panelist at our Co-op Couture event this past Friday. She discussed her experiences with dressing for a professional job and answered questions from the audience alongside five other panelists in the Drexel community after a fashion show geared towards professional workplace attire.
Ariana got the opportunity to work as a panelist by being an active member of Her Campus at Drexel. She heard about HC in her UNIV 101 (University 101) class as a freshman. Her Campus at Drexel sparked an interest for Ariana because it’s a media brand that serves as a hub for topics that are relevant to the empowered college-age woman, but also for Drexel students. Writers get the freedom to choose what they write about varying from fashion, love, politics, to campus event reviews. “We love to collaborate with other campus organizations on issues that are important to us,” Ariana said. By winter of that year, she was offered an editorial assistant position. After holding that position for a few months, Ariana was offered to take over the position of the managing editor the following year. She worked as managing editor throughout her sophomore year and moved up to her current position by that summer.
Escalating to a leadership role entails a lot of responsibilities for Ariana, most of which are editorial. She runs HC at Drexel’s weekly writers’ meetings for our writers to brainstorm and assign content. To keep our content fresh and high-quality, she approves ideas, manages the editorial calendar to ensure a variety of article topics, oversees the senior editor, makes second-round edits and publishes content to our site. In addition to her editorial responsibilities, Ariana also runs our chapters Instagram account and performs various administrative tasks.
According to Ariana, the best thing about her position is the relevant experience it’s provided her. As a communications major, Ariana has experienced working in the position and performing tasks that she will put to use in her professional future. “As someone who is interested in editorial writing, serving as an editor for this organization in some capacity over the past three years has given me experience to put on my resume, talking points to discuss in interviews and sets me apart from others in my field,” she said.
However, taking on such a position does come with its challenges. The biggest obstacle Ariana faces is holding peers accountable. As a chapter of a national brand, Her Campus at Drexel has deadlines and content requirements they must meet each week. “Corresponding with writers and ensuring that we are meeting those requirements can be a struggle considering that our writers are also full-time students,” Ariana said when discussing her trials. When HC at Drexel ends up low on content, it becomes Ariana’s responsibility as editor-in-chief to make up for the lack of content, meaning writing articles that are still quality in a short amount of time.
HC at Drexel has left a huge impact on Ariana’s experience at Drexel. She credits her positions here with helping her secure her co-op positions. She’s had a lot of networking opportunities with other students and professionals in addition to having made friends and developing practical skills that she can apply in life. Her time with HC at Drexel has given Ariana an outlet to be creative and write about things that she’s passionate about.
Although Ariana’s unsure of what she wants to do post-graduation, she has many interests. She would love to work on the editorial team for a magazine like Cosmopolitan, but Ariana is also interested in the field of public relations. Additionally, she has an interest in communications research, “I would love to travel and conduct research. So, I guess we’ll see what opportunities come my way when graduation gets closer,” Ariana said.
When her life isn’t eat, breathe, Her Campus, Ariana likes to write creatively and has even dabbled in poetry and short story writing. She noted that there have been a few attempts at writing a novel, but she struggles to get past the 50-page mark. So, look out, we may have a future NY Times best seller in the making. Ariana also works at SoulCycle, so if she’s not working, she’s most likely riding in class. On top of all of these things, Ariana also works as a resident assistant in Race Hall. You can often find her on duty or making door decorations and bulletin boards for her residents. She wanted to give special shout out to her floor two fam.
(Ariana pictured far left) Image Courtesy of SoulCycle Rittenhouse