Hi! My name is Sophie Akitt, and I’m so excited to be returning to Her Campus at Carleton as Vice President for the 2026–27 year!
I’m currently in my final year at Carleton, finishing my Honours Bachelor of Arts in Law and Legal Studies with a double minor in Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies. On paper, that probably makes it sound like I spend all of my time reading case law and talking about politics, which, to be fair, is not entirely inaccurate.
I’ve always been really interested in law, politics, feminism, and the way all of those things intersect with people’s everyday lives. But alongside that, writing has always been one of the things I love most. Journalism and personal writing give me a completely different kind of outlet than academic writing does, and that was a huge part of what originally drew me to Her Campus.
My journey with Her Campus Carleton has actually followed me through a pretty significant portion of my university experience. I first joined as a general member, later joined the social media executive team, and eventually moved into the Vice President position.
This will now be my second year as VP and my third year with the exec team and chapter overall, which feels a little surreal to say. When I first joined, I was really just looking for somewhere I could write about the things I cared about and meet people with similar interests. I don’t think I realized then how much of my university experience Her Campus would end up becoming.
One of my favourite things about HCC is the freedom we have to write about basically anything that matters to us. Some of my favourite pieces I’ve written have let me explore topics surrounding women, university, feminism, relationships, culture, and the weird experience of trying to figure out who you are in your twenties.
I love that one week someone can be writing about something deeply personal or political, and the next person can be talking about a show they’re obsessed with, their favourite places in Ottawa, or a trend they cannot stop thinking about. There is room for all of it, and I think that is what makes Her Campus feel so genuinely representative of the people who make up the chapter.
Writing outside of school has also become increasingly important to me over the past few years. As much as I genuinely love studying law, there is something very different about being able to sit down and write because I actually have something I want to say.
I tend to gravitate toward personal essays and cultural commentary, especially anything that lets me think about feminism, relationships, identity, growing up, politics, or the strange little experiences that somehow end up saying something much bigger. I’m also someone who is constantly reading, saving quotes, writing things down in my Notes app, and thinking of an article idea at the most inconvenient possible time.
As Vice President, a huge part of what I’m looking forward to this year is getting to know the people who join our chapter and helping create the kind of environment that made me want to stay in HCC in the first place. University can feel surprisingly isolating sometimes, especially when everyone is balancing classes, work, friendships, and a million other commitments.
Having a space where you can show up, meet people, be creative, and actually enjoy yourself outside of school is something I really value. Some of my favourite HCC memories have come from our social events whether we’re painting tote bags, making vision boards and bouquets, or just getting everyone together for a night where nobody has to think about their assignments for a few hours.
Outside of Her Campus, I tend to keep myself pretty busy. I’m involved in other organizations on campus, particularly ones connected to law and women’s advocacy, and I also work alongside finishing my degree. I’m someone who has a very difficult time saying no to something that sounds interesting, which is probably how I have ended up with a calendar that looks the way it does.
As chaotic as it can be, I genuinely love being involved at Carleton. Some of the best parts of my university experience have happened outside of a classroom, and getting involved on campus has introduced me to people and opportunities I never would have found otherwise.
When I’m not doing any of that, there is a very good chance I’m reading, writing, listening to music, spending an unreasonable amount of time with my cats, or finding another way to avoid whatever I actually should be doing. My music taste lives somewhere in the alternative-rock realm, with Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, Metric, Evanescence, Fontaines D.C., and System of a Down making frequent appearances.
My taste in books tends to be equally cheerful. I love literary fiction, dystopian novels, philosophy, politics, and the kind of slightly unhinged female-centred books that leave you staring at the wall for a while after you finish them. Basically, if a book features a complicated woman experiencing some sort of existential crisis, I’m probably interested.
I’m also at that very strange point in university where the question of “what are you doing after graduation?” is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid. Law has always been the direction I’ve seen myself heading in, and law school is ultimately where I hope that path takes me.
At the same time, I don’t think my love of writing is something I’ll ever leave behind. If anything, Her Campus has reminded me that the different things I care about don’t necessarily have to exist in completely separate parts of my life. There is a lot of overlap between law, politics, feminism, culture and storytelling, and I think writing has become one of the ways I make sense of all of them.
Going into another year as Vice President feels especially meaningful knowing that I’m also reaching the end of my time at Carleton. I want this year to be one where we continue building a chapter that people genuinely want to be part of — whether they come to HCC because they love journalism, want a creative outlet, are hoping to make friends or simply have something they want to say. I’m incredibly excited for the articles, events, late-night group chat messages, new members, familiar faces and everything else that comes with another year of Her Campus.
Most of all, I’m just really happy to be back. Here’s to another year of HCC! ♡