I’ve been to Manhattan plenty of times before, but never on my own. Heading to the city that Friday morning by myself on the Megabus reassured me that I’m hitting the tipping point of being a real person (and by real person, I mean an adult…crazy).
I arrived at the 28th street Megabus drop-stop around 11 a.m., but check-in wasn’t until 3 p.m. at my hotel. Oh man, so much time to kill. I hailed a cab successfully on my first try, which was the most satisfying rush, and I made my way to Jane Street to drop my bags off at the Jane Hotel.
The rest of Friday was spent walking down Bleecker Street, shopping (mostly window shopping) in SoHo, and eating dinner on a little wooden bench along a tree-lined sidewalk in Washington Square Park. Holy crap, I thought to myself…I just LOVE this area of the city. (I had only ever stayed around the mid-town area on previous trips).
Saturday was the day I had been waiting for: Her Campus National Intercollegiette Conference Day. I decided to be daring and take the subway for my first time ever, and totally on my own. To my surprise, it actually wasn’t that hard; I used the HopStop app on my iPhone and made it to my destination up in midtown on 3rd Avenue in good time. Aside from the terrible heat while being underground, it was an unexpectedly smooth experience.
Here’s when the interesting stuff starts – the conference. I walked a short distance to the venue and made my way to the correct floor in the super-quick elevator (I’m obviously comparing this to the deathly slow elevators we have in the suite buildings on campus). This floor was dedicated entirely to the conference, and there were stations and tables set up with everything awesome that would take place between the actual panels and chats that were scheduled throughout the day.
We ate breakfast and mingled with other collegiettes before it was time to check in, which consisted of not only the obvious process of checking-in, but also receiving a huge goody bag of free stuff. I couldn’t wait to shuffle through it all later. The woman who took my ticket also handed me a Chipotle coupon, which I thought was just a raffle-prize-something-or-other, so I casually tossed it in my bag. It wasn’t until a little bit later in the day that we would all discover that this little “coupon” was for FREE 20-person Chipotle catering. Crazy! (Which we’re obviously using for a team party over here at SMCVT)
We had opening speakers next, including the awesome Her Campus co-founders as well as designer Josie Natori (who would be doing free bra fittings and giveaways that day). Josie offered one bit of advice that really stuck out to me: “If you don’t take risks, you don’t move forward.”
There was also some free time in the morning and between panels when we could shop the BCBGeneration sample sale, get our hair done with Amika hair care products, and get our photos taken for the Plan It Forward movement.
Still, the panels were my favorite part of the entire day. The first one was most relevant to my own interests: “Does the Devil Really Wear Prada? Life as an Entry-Level Magazine Editor.” These four panelists, who were “rookie” magazine editors from major publications (Glamour, Country Living, Women’s Health, TV Guide), offered us tips and tricks to making it in this industry, as well as mistakes or successes they’ve encountered. One of the best tips from these ladies was that everyone knows everyone in the magazine industry, so remember to be enthusiastic and stay in touch with contacts. Also, don’t be afraid to bug them, professionally.
The next panel I chose to sit in on was “Climbing the Ladder: Journalism Jobs Later On.” This was essentially the same idea as the first panel, but with more experienced editors in the industry. I admittedly tweeted A LOT during this panel, so here are a few tips that stuck with me from these editors (including one editor from COSMO…ahhh!)
After this panel, I stayed behind to meet Elisa Benson, the super funny and totally awesome Cosmopolitan social media editor. Oh my god did I freak out. I was completely star struck and wanted to ask her EVERYTHING about her job (because my life goal is to work at Cosmo), but obviously we only had a few minutes, so I handed her my resume in exchange for her email (at which point I nearly died), and asked a few questions about what it’s like to have her job, and then went on my way. I will get around to emailing her; I just need to think of the perfect questions first…
Anyways, the last panel I sat in on was led by Her Campus co-founder Stephanie Kaplan, and it was all about creating content for our Her Campus branches/making it fabulous/etc. We learned organizational skills, how to write super-catchy headlines, and much more.
Closing statements included a talk with Fran Hauser, the president of digital Time Inc.’s Style and Entertainment group. She suggested that in this industry, it’s a good idea to develop thick skin and not take things personally.
The conference was wrapped up with some yogurt and granola, a screening of Girl Rising, and picking the raffle winners of some awesome prizes like a scooter (super jealous).
So, that was it! All of the excitement and process of getting there was definitely worth it, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to attend the event. After leaving, I walked to Bryant Park to eat a quick bite of dinner before heading back to the hotel. I was planning on catching another cab, but it ended up being a pretty nice night so I just walked all the way back (which was about 30 blocks).
Solo weekend in NYC = huge success.