You have run Her Campus Helsinki for a year now. How would you describe your time as Campus Correspondents?
Laura: It’s been equally busy and rewarding. It’s the kind of experience that will definitely teach you about leading and time management and a lot of the things that you’d want in your resume. It’s been kind of a hectic year, but I feel that I’ve learned so much that it’s been totally worth it. This job definitely gives you strong writing and editing skills as well as communication and social media skills, which are very important in almost any job.
Anna: It definitely gives you that little extra to make you stand out in the future. For me, the Campus Correspondence position has always been in name only. We discussed this [starting the chapter] for the first time with Laura when we were on our way to Turku to see a friend…
Laura: Yeah, I totally surprised her and was like: “You have to help me!”
Anna: And I’ve always been very poor with management too! But Laura was aware of it and she still wanted me to help, so I agreed. Even though I’ve been more of a writer, it has been cool and interesting nonetheless. I guess you look at the campus a bit differently when you have to look at it as a journalist.
Laura: Yeah, you definitely get more of an insight into how the university works and all the people studying here, especially when you have to find people for the Campus Cutie and Celebrity articles. Because usually people are kind of stuck to their own student organizations and don’t necessarily meet too many other people.
How was it like to start a new Her Campus Chapter from scratch?
Laura: It was intimidating. Her Campus is a very American concept and it’s hugely popular in the States and the UK, but it’s not culturally as important and well-known here [in Finland]. It was intimidating to start looking for staff members among people who had never even heard of Her Campus before and the whole recruitment process was very daunting. However, it was great to find people who were interested and wanted to help and the first few weeks of last spring when we started gave us a confidence boost for the upcoming fall.
Anna: It was intimidating, but also interesting to see what direction our chapter would go. I think we have our own flavour.
Laura: Yes, we have a very Scandinavian vibe and our chapter is very open-minded about what kind of articles we feature and to what direction we will take the chapter.
Where did the idea to start your own Her Campus chapter come from?
Laura: I had been reading Her Campus for some years already and I also had my own blog, so I decided to apply for the Her Campus blogger network and got in. It was great and I made some friends through it and one day I got an email from the Her Campus management saying that they’d love to have a chapter in Helsinki and asked if I was interested in starting one. Since I’ve always wanted to work in the media industry, I thought it would be a great opportunity and good experience for the future. So I pretty much jumped at the opportunity but still felt like I needed a friend to help and basically harassed Anna to help me.
Anna: The last bake sale we had showed just how much progress we’ve made during the past year.
Laura: There were so many people! In both of our bake sales, teachers had come up and said how much they liked our chapter and the positive message we’re sending and how the university needs the kind of community for women that we’ve created. Also, it’s been very rewarding to have such a good team, because there were times when I was afraid that no one would want to do this with me.
You are now moving on with your lives and stepping down from your positions as Campus Correspondents. What are your plans for the next year?
Laura: I will continue as a writer for Her Campus Helsinki – I definitely don’t want to leave the chapter or the team – but I’ll also be starting my gradu and I want to focus on that. On top of all this I’m also writing for two other magazines. It’s a bit sad to give up my position as a Campus Correspondent, but I need to get my master’s degree wrapped up and hopefully with this experience I can move on to another position in the media world later on.
Anna: I’m going to start my bachelor’s thesis but I don’t really have any other concrete plans yet.
What advice would you give to the new Campus Correspondents of Her Campus Helsinki (Ed. Note: ahem, us)?
Laura: Be flexible because it’s definitely needed when managing a team and trying to get everyone’s articles published on time. Sometimes things can get very hectic, but when you communicate well with your team, everything will work out. Also, go with your gut and develop the chapter into the direction you want it to go. Up to this point we’ve focused on getting the chapter up and running, but we haven’t necessarily had a master plan on the direction we want it to take. Now that the ground work is done, we can really start developing Her Campus Helsinki more.
Anna: Also, keep the excitement and positive attitude that you have towards the chapter up!
Laura: Yeah, hard work and positive attitude will take you a long way.
Finally, what are your plans for the summer?
Laura: I already started my summer on a vacation to Istanbul where I’ve been before, but it’s such a gorgeous city that I was very excited to visit it again. In addition to that, I’ll be working on some translations for my dad’s company, and also travelling to Barcelona, which will be a nice break.
Anna: I just got a job at a strawberry stall. Other than that, I don’t have any big plans, maybe I’ll go to a few festivals, relax and get tanned.
Stay tuned for more amazing articles from Laura and Anna in the autumn!