The 2016-2017 school year has been a successful one for the Her Campus Ryerson team. Our team has grown significantly this year, from just 2 to 19 members! What is so exciting about this growth is that each of the members have their own unique interests and strengths, which is why and how we have been able to put out articles this year that are so diverse in terms of their topics. Members on the team have written about everything from K-Pop to what Canada can learn from Malala Yousafzai. Beyond this, we have been recognized as a silver level Chapter by the Her Campus Magazine, which was a huge accomplishment for us since Her Campus is new to Ryerson.
Over the year we have been busy writing about other people and other topics, so I thought shifting the focus onto ourselves and the team as a whole would be a great way finish off the year. I decided to ask the girls on our team some questions about their time with Her Campus. Keep on reading to see what members on our team enjoyed most about being on the Her Campus team and what their favorite articles were.
What did you enjoy most about being on the Her Campus Ryerson Team?
Catherine Abes: My favourite thing about being on the team is how people truly push to make this chapter the best it can be. We’ve come up with some really wonderful innovations this year– giveaways, new features like the social media roundup, and our social media presence has really grown. I think this team strives to go above and beyond and it’s so encouraging; I’m proud to say I’m a part of it.
Julia Mastroianni: My sister is at Laurier and she always says their Her Campus there has a reputation of only really writing frivolous fluff pieces, but I think our Her Campus is something really special. Everyone does their best to write about things they care about– even if the things they care about are dogs or clothes, any reader can tell they’re writing about it because they’re passionate about it. I think this passion is amazing to see; it makes our team stand out and it makes me really proud to be a part of it.
Jacklyn Gilmor: I think what I’ve enjoyed most (though I just joined the team recently) is the freedom to write what we want. There’s such a wide variety of both fun and thought provoking stories we can explore, and I love seeing that reflected on the site. We cover everything, from recipes to relationship issues to hard-hitting political pieces. I’m blessed to be here!
Jasmeen Natt: I enjoy being on the Her Campus team because it is a way to express my feelings about the things I’m passionate about.
Zaria Cornall: I enjoyed meeting with Lena, the campus correspondent, and the other girls. Seeing their openness and willingness to do their best, and work hard, really inspired me to do the same.
Harpreet Natt: I really enjoyed being on the team for multiple reasons. Firstly, it was amazing to see how a group of girls working together could create something so wonderful. To become a silver level chapter with a team that was (and is) still working on it’s social media presence and was so small (but growing), shows the kind of things we can create if we work hard. Secondly, it was nice to have a space to write about topics I was passionate about. Whether they were related to school or not, there was comfort in knowing that I wasn’t being marked for what I was saying and how I was saying it.
What is your favourite article that was published this year on Her Campus Ryerson?
Lena Lahalih: It would definitely have to be Vicki Lee’s “The Ends to Justify the Memes.” I loved her insights on how memes (which are overwhelming funny and relatable) can help us navigate dark sociopolitical times.
Catherine Abes: Favourite article is definitely Julia Mastroianni’s piece, “The Oscars, Politics, and Art”- so insightful and really made me think about La La Land in a new way, but not in such a manner that I felt bad for liking it in the first place. It’s difficult to find that balance between showing people a new perspective without telling them they are inherently wrong, and this article does it perfectly. I love that our chapter can create important discourse like that.
Sherina Harris: I loved Emma Johnston-Wheeler’s article, “Women’s March Toronto: Women United Will Never Be Defeated.” It was such an inspiring event, and it’s awesome to read about it in a way that makes you feel like you were there. The message of the piece, that women refused to be silenced, is incredibly powerful!
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Thank you for keeping up with this year and we look forward to improving our team and our articles to help make University life easier and more enjoyable for you all! If you have any suggestions for topics we should write about or improvements we could make in general, please tweet us @HCRyerson!