I remember the first time I found out about Her Campus. It was through a flyer at my old university’s bulletin boards. They were looking for writers. I had always been fond of the idea of writing, and I read a lot of books as a child. However, I had never had the chance or the “push” to write something for myself, even though I had the ideas.
What I found there was a small group of young college women, all from different backgrounds and majors, uniting for what I think is a very innovative way to put forth a message and to empower other young women to do the same. I instantly loved it and became their beauty writer, using my love for skincare and cosmetics to give other women small tips to use in their everyday routines.
Alas, back then I was in a lot of turmoil after choosing the wrong major to start college with and subsequently, had to leave Her Campus, to focus on my studies instead. Never did I forget, however, how much I enjoyed that small opportunity that Her Campus gave me to write articles every week and have readers from my college enjoy what I wrote.
Fast forward to about one year ago, at my new college (and major!), I spoke to my newly-made friends about starting a Her Campus Chapter at our school. Two of them, specifically, were very excited about the idea and had previous knowledge of the existence of Her Campus. So then, we did it. We talked to the Dean, filled out the applications to make our chapter a registered school organization and completed the Her Campus management test.
It was so exciting. We went all out and prepared to launch our chapter on September 22, 2015. We participated in our university’s tabling event to recruit more members and promote our launch, we wrote a few articles about our school and our students, and just had a very positive experience and acceptance from our academic community.
Difficulties followed, however, when I realized that for some people, joining our organization was more fun than the actual work they had to put in. A few of us had to do most of the work. We started to feel very demotivated, but we worked hard to complete all of our responsibilities, because, unlike others, for us this was a real job.
Our team, though we aren’t perfect, has one thing that puts us above others and it is that we’re friends. Our interests are alike, because we all study the same major and we’re very open to everyone joining and making people feel welcome. This, I believe, will make us go far in the long run.
On my second semester as Campus Correspondent, our weekly content definitely improved overall. We decided to write more articles in Spanish, since we noticed our students felt more comfortable reading in their mother language; we wrote more articles about psychology, its use, its applications and its phenomena; and we engaged better with our academic community interviewing some of our many awesome students who have incredible academic careers and achievements. This, has helped us increase our followers in social media and has gotten us noticed by other school organizations who have requested our presence or help in some events.
Personally, my reading comprehension and writing skills have improved significantly, as I am much better at putting forth a message than I was six months ago; I am more outgoing and better at convincing people to join or follow a particular thought or cause; Also, I have learned the true meaning of responsibility and the huge impact it has on the overall achievement of a job, organization and event. Something I had severely lacked on my previous days before becoming a campus correspondent.
If there is anything I wish for this chapter, it is that it goes forward and always falls into the hands of well-meaning people who desire to make a change and empower students in their academic communities. I hope that through the work I did, I at least inspired some of my friends to take control of their lives and do something fulfilling and meaningful.
I am extremely thankful to Her Campus for providing me with the chance to develop my writing abilities in such a way, that I have decided to start a personal blog in the following months to always have a place to use the power of the written word to help and instruct others, as well as to learn new skills every single day. I will, of course, continue writing in my Her Campus chapter until the day that I graduate.
Thank you to my university and my academic community for supporting our chapter, and to my dear and lovely friends, who will become the next Campus Correspondents’: Good luck! And take care of our darling chapter in the same way that the past Campus Correspondents tried to care for and breathe life into it. I hope you guys do a much better job than we did.