In early March, Olivia Corrigan and some of her sorority sisters sat down for a Skype Interview. What they didn’t know, however, was that Ellen Degeneres would be on the other side. HC Marist sat down with Olivia to hear all about her Ellen experience.
Name: Olivia Corrigan
Major: International Business
Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY
HC: Tell us about yourself:
OC: I am currently the VP of community relations for the Delta Epsilon chapter of Alpha Sigma Tau at Marist College. Through this position, I can fulfill my passion for giving back and making a difference within our school community. I help organize philanthropic events with my peers to make Greek life a known presence on Marist campus specifically through the work we do.
HC: What is your favorite freshman year memory?
OC: My favorite freshman year memory would probably the first night of college where my roommate and I went out onto the green next to Marian Hall, where we were living and jumped into a soccer game with some random boys. I am so grateful we did, because those boys turned out to be our best friends. We are still so incredibly close with them three years later. I couldn’t imagine life at Marist College without them.
HC: What drove you apply to be on the Ellen Show?
OC: One of my sorority sisters, Victoria Ruggiero decided to apply on a whim one night after seeing Ellen’s post for her search for NY’s biggest fans. The show was looking for fans to attend a live showing courtesy of Capital One, so Vic jumped at the once in a lifetime opportunity! Ellen had made such an impact of Vic’s life growing up with her father’s battle with cancer. She shed a light of positivity, hope, but most importantly allowed Vic and her family an hour of laughter to escape the daily hardships they endured.
HC: What was that process like, from start to finish?
OC: Being on the Ellen show was one of the most exciting moments of my life. We initially received an email saying that we had a skype call with one of the producers from the show. Naturally, we were ecstatic to even hear back from them, so you could imagine our reactions when we saw Ellen herself pop up on the call.
HC: Do you have any other plans to continue the amazing work you’re doing after college? Does it tie into any future career plans?
OC: I think that many of my passions will carry over in my career once school is over. Helping others, whether it be one person, or group of people, is something that is innate. It is something that will always shine through, no matter what environment I am placed in. Currently, I am interviewing for internship positions all like the work that I contribute to Greek life in terms of giving back to the community. Hopefully, if all goes well I can turn my passions into a career.
HC: As a member of AST, how has being apart of a sorority added to your college experience?
OC: Joining AST was probably one of the best decisions that I made here at Marist college. Not only has it given me some of the best, lifelong friends, it has allowed me countless opportunities that I would have never experienced otherwise. AST has helped shape me into a leader, role model, and has helped prepare me for the real world.
HC: Anything else you’d like to share?
OC: I just wanted to thank everyone from Her Campus for reaching out to me and for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts!