This week, Her Campus Leeds talks to Ella Duffy, co-President of our Leeds Her Campus Chapter!
Hi Ella! So, tell us a bit about yourself…
Hi, my name is Ella, I’m 21 (22 next week!) and I’m originally from North London. I’m in my final year at Uni, studying English and Italian. I’m co-president of Her Campus Leeds this year, and am loving every minute!
How did you get involved with Her Campus?
I’ve always been interested in writing, and I was a bit lazy in first year with regards to joining societies (which I massively regret). So, in my second year I was determined to find a society that I could write for. Her Campus immediately stood out for me at the Fresher’s Fair, and I signed up and have been a member ever since, even on my year abroad last year! I wrote a TV blog the first year I got involved with Her Campus, last year I wrote a year abroad blog all about my time in Italy, and this year I do odd bits of writing here and there, but am mainly involved in organising stuff behind the scenes.
Why are you intersted in media?
I’ve just always loved writing! I helped create a school magazine when I was at school, and when I was a lot younger I loved writing stories and poems (which are really cringey to read now) and carried my own little notebook round with me everywhere. I think that it’s great to be able to do something that you’re passionate about, and for me I’d ideally love to make a career out of blogging/reviewing if I was lucky enough to get the opportunity.
What’s a typical week like for you?
Every Monday we have our Her Campus meeting, where we discuss what we’ve got planned for the week and what was successful the previous week. Generally speaking we might plan content and upcming ideas, and even some socials too. Every Wednesday I get an email from our Chapter Advisor at Her Campus HQ who tells me what she enjoyed on our site and what we did well the previous week, and then on Sundays I have to submit an account to Her Campus HQ about what our chapter has done this week and what we have planned for next week! Sadly, I spend a lot of time in the library, but I also do usually go out with friends! (Sometimes I have a life…)
How can people get involved in HC?
It’s really, really easy to get involved, and we would LOVE to welcome some new people next semester. Basically, if you want to get involved you can email Steph (my co-president) and I at: stephandellahc@gmail.com and tell us what you would like to write about, or alternatively if you want to edit or be a part of the social media team or anything else let us know and we can help you from there. You then just need to buy a membership and you’re ready to go! We’re really flexible about what you want to write about as well as understanding that you’re at university and that sometimes deadlines/life can get in the way, so if you can’t write one week it’s fine! Don’t worry about previous experience either, as it’s very chilled out and we’re all friendly and here to answer any questions that you may have about writing, editing or uploading. We’re a fairly small team but we all get along really well, and we have some great socials together.
Anything exciting planned that we should know about?
We are actually planning to produce a mini-magazine version of Her Campus Leeds next semester which is SO EXCITING! It also means that there are even more reasons to get involved – we’re particularly looking for any graphic designers or anyone who would be able to help with the formatting and design of the magazine. Also, we have some fab socials coming up in the new year which I can’t wait for!
Anything else to add?
I just want to say well done again to our brilliant Her Campus Leeds team for all their hard work this semester and for the amazing articles that have been produced, as well as the editors for getting everything on the site on time and to the digital/social media team for their relentless posting on social media- we have been promoted to a GOLD level chapter and I am so proud of everyone and their hard work! Platinum next!