Meet Claire Jennings, a junior at UCF majoring in nursing and minoring in leadership studies. Along with being one of our talented writers on the Her Campus team this year, she is a majorette for UCF’s Marching Knights as well as a contestant in the upcoming Miss UCF Pageant this spring. When she is not involved with schoolwork or clubs, you can find her playing with her two dogs, aka the loves of her life, Bently and Jolly, or find her obsessing over slothes.
Lena: What made you choose UCF?
Claire: I chose UCF because it really had everything I wanted. I’m very close to my mom, so I wanted to go somewhere close to her, but still far enough away to be independent. I am also a competitive baton twirler and twirling in college has always been a goal of mine, and I knew UCF would be a great place to do that. UCF just felt right. When I visited UCF for the first time, I felt so welcome. It seemed like people were very free to be themselves, and that excited me.
L: What activities are you involved in on campus?
C: I have been a UCF Majorette for 3 years now, and this is my second year as captain. I’m obviously involved in Her Campus, lol. I have been working at the Student Union for a little over a year and I am the Senior Information Desk Manager, I am a LEAD Scholar alumni and I was a LEAD peer mentor, I was 2nd runner up to Miss UCF last year and I am a contestant again this year.
L: How long have you been twirling?
C: I have been twirling for 11 years now and competing for 10. It’s a huge part of my life!
L: What challenges have you faced as a team captain?
C: As rewarding as it is being a captain, there have been a bunch of challenges. I actually wrote an article explaining quite a few of them called The Struggles of Supervising Your Peers. It’s kind of weird being in charge of your friends, because sometimes you have to be the fun spoiler. I have definitely had to have thick skin because sometimes show weeks are stressful and every member of the team handles stress differently. Every halftime show we do is a totally different experience than the last. All the hard work is worth it as soon as we step onto the field, though. There really is nothing like performing in a college stadium.
L: How long have you been competing in pagents?
C: Miss UCF is the first and only pageant I have ever done! I had a great time and met so many great people that I probably never would have been friends with if it wasn’t for Miss UCF.
L: How was the experience with Miss UCF last year?
C: I feel like Miss UCF is different than other pageants because you end up really being a representative of your school and a spokesperson for people your age. That’s what appealed to me about it.
L: What do you expect from this year?
C: This year has already been different than last year, and fun in a completely different way. Every week, I get closer to all the other contestants and I can’t wait to learn even more about them.
L: What made you interested in writing for Her Campus?
C: I have always liked writing, and one of my good friends was the editor last spring. It seemed like she had so much fun writing, so I thought it would be fun for me too. I am so glad I joined Her Campus and I feel like I have really grown as a person because of it! Writing for Her Campus makes me feel brave and confident, and writing is a great stress reliever for me.
L: What is the most memorable article you have written for Her Campus?
C: My most memorable article is actually one that I have been working on, but isn’t published yet. I’ve been writing it for a while and it just keeps developing. I’m really excited to see how it turns out. So you’ll have to wait and see!