The senior editor in the flesh. (Instagram/Vicki Lee)
20-year-old Vicki Lee joined Her Campus in her first-year as a writer and is now the publication’s Senior Editor. She was born and raised in the east end of the city and enjoys a subway trip twice a day. Thanks to three years of commuting, she has memorized the sequence of stations on Line Two. “If you ever see me in person, I’ll gladly recite them to you,” she says.
Name: Vicki Lee
Program: English
Year: 3rd
Her Campus Position: Senior Editor and Writer
Why did you choose to study English?
“When I was little, I watched an unholy amount of TV. My obsession was so severe that I had to wear glasses when I was a little over one year old (you can message me directly if you want to examine the photographic evidence). To remedy my addiction, my parents made an executive decision to cancel our cable. It was a drastic but necessary disciplinary measure. I didn’t hear Arthur Read’s voice again until I was in high school.
Consequently, I directed my attention to books (which are pretty much TV shows inside your head), thus setting ablaze my love for literature. I began rigorously jotting down new vocabulary and annotating passages that struck a chord with me (I still do this with my required readings). I wanted to write as well as my beloved authors so I decided to pursue an English degree. In short, I’m here in university because I am a copycat.
Why did you decide to join Her Campus? How did you become senior editor?
“I joined Her Campus because I wanted to hone my ability to write for an online audience. My entrance into the team also signaled a new epoch in my university experience — it was also the time I made some of my dearest friends. I became a senior editor a few months into writing because our Editor-in-Chief, Lena, graciously recognized my love for the publication.”
What’s something readers might not know about you?
“I kindle a fervent love for memes. My intimate friends know (and scoff at) this fact, but Her Campus readers probably haven’t gleaned it from my writing alone. You can quiz me on any trending joke in the past few hours and I’ll ace it. In fact, most of my friendships are predicated on a mutual passion for viral internet nonsense.”
How do you get through writer’s block?
“I usually just cry.”
I’ve noticed on your Instagram that you have a lot of amazing photography. Is that something you like to do other than writing?
“Thank you for checking it out! I devote a lot of attention to my Instagram. The gestalt of my posts is a marriage of film noir, Gothic horror, and 19th-century aesthetics. Specifically, I derive inspiration from the architecture of Toronto’s oldest neighbourhoods like Rosedale and the Annex. I have a fetish for Gothic-revival architecture, if you haven’t already noticed. I think buildings immortalize a city’s personality in a way that is comprehensible and humanizing. To regard an old house is more emotive than to examine an isolated artifact in a museum. Also, I am comforted by the fact that no matter how kitschy my Instagram gets, at least I don’t have an aerial shot of Milk and Honey on my profile.”
One of the many black and white shots on Vicki’s instagram. (Instagram/Vicki Lee)
What’s your favourite female-written book?
“This is the toughest question you can ever pose a literature student. Perhaps a novel that has a lot of sentimental value to me would be Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Sorry, I’ve tried to eschew all clichés but I have to allow myself this one. It was my first taste of canonical literature and a book from which I extracted a lot of new vocabulary as a kid.”
Where do you see (or where would you like to see) yourself in five years?
“If I can survive my next few semesters unscathed, I hope to study literature at the graduate level! With five more years of experience under my belt, I also anticipate stronger writing skills. Most importantly, I pray that 25-year-old Vic has maintained — if not fortified — her contour game.”
What makes writing for Her Campus so enjoyable? What’s your favourite article that you’ve written?
“This publication affords me the creative freedom to delve into topics (often frivolous) that I am sincerely interested in. Unlike the case with school, I am unfettered by the expectations of a rubric or the pressure to get a good grade. As much as I love academic writing, I indulge in Her Campus articles as I do the weekly cheat day. In particular, ‘Eating Disorders are Not Plot Devices’ is an essay that means a lot to me.”
What’s one word you would use to describe yourself and why?
“Childish — both in stature and behaviour.”
Keep up with Vicki on her Twitter @LovePoisonNo9 and Instagram @vickialee
“I am very entertaining — I promise that you won’t regret following me!”