Arielle Witter, our graduating Her Campus cutie, opens our interview by joking about how right now is her proudest moment in college as she’s done countless Cutie interviews but has never herself been a Cutie. We are sitting outside the Dav, sunglasses on and coffee in hand, getting settled in for our interview. Before we begin, Arielle is already making jokes and laughing. She tells me her mom has always said you can hear her before you can see her. Her mother is not wrong – however, listening to Arielle, it’s not hard to tell why hearing that voice puts a smile on everyone around her.
Arielle Witter, the graduating Her Campus American President, has inspired countless members of Her Campus American with her vibrant and infectious personality as well as her ambition and love for adventure. Arielle’s passion for life, love of a funny story, and food escapades are just a few of the reasons we’re already missing this Cutie. She has a gleaming future ahead of her, and it is with bittersweet sadness that we say goodbye to our president, but not before making sure the world knows just how truly amazing she is!
Major: Journalism
Minor: Art History
Her Campus American University: To start, what are you involved in on campus?
Arielle Witter: Her Campus, of course! I’m also on the student media board.
HC AU: Where did you grow up?
AW: I’m from Bergenfield, NJ. It’s part of the greater Bergan County, New Jersey. It’s suburban but gets the crowd from Manhattan, so it’s pretty busy. Basically, the only difference between where I live and the city is you need a car to get everywhere instead of walking.
At this point in the interview, Arielle’s sister called her. It was easy to tell the two got along really well, as Arielle answered her sister’s question and ended with a quick and affectionate “Love you, bye!” This prompty led me to ask:
HC AU: What is your family like?
AW: I have two parents and an older sister and a nephew. My nephew is three years old and cute and cuddly. He has these gorgeous dimples. Overall, my family is lovely – and that’s only said with slight sarcasm. They’re colorful and eccentric but they are the best people in the whole world, and I wouldn’t want to be part of any other family. They’re thebombdotcom.
HC AU: Describe yourself in three words (don’t think about it, just go!)
AW: Funny, loyal, colorful (to go along with my family).
HC AU: Who are the women you find inspiration from and why?
AW: Definitely Amal Clooney. She’s so feminine and such a badass at the same time, and it’s so incredible how she finds that balance. I also need to include my mother and my sister. They are both really strong ladies and really funny ladies and I can turn to them with whatever problem I have. Also Mindy Kaling; I love her so much. How she writes and everything she does is so relatable to me. I started watching the Mindy Project and then just read all the books she put out immediately after. That’s about it for now, although I know there are more.
HC AU: What are some of your life goals?
AW: I want to write a book one day. I already know what’s it’s going to be: it’s going to be a narrative about my life, but a humorous narrative about my life. I would love to be an editor at a travel magazine…or a writer. Basically, anyone who gets paid to travel and go somewhere and write about it or being at the home base editing those writers.
HC AU: What is your favorite Her Campus American memory?
AW: God, there are so many! The one that comes to the top of my head is the beginning of my friendship with Tanvi, our former Editor-in-Cheif. We were tabling together and it was just a funny experience and a great time.
HC AU: Who are some of your favorite artists?
AW: Frieda Kahlo and August Renoir, who is an impressionist painter. I’ve also been a die-hard Ed Sheeran fan since I was 16 – I found out about him through One Direction. For a writer, definitely Mindy Khaling. She is such a relatable writer and has such cadence.
HC AU: What was your favorite part of being at AU?
AW: Student media has been my niche in college. I was never involved in student media before coming here. I started out as an SIS major and then I switched to print journalism. I joined Her Campus and all of a sudden I knew this is where I needed to be. I knew I needed to be in the media realm and I loved having that network of people within all of student media. In college, I think it’s easy to go under the radar so if you know people within a certain organization or group, you feel more established and like you have a community here.
HC AU: What was your least favorite part of AU?
AW: Just in general, I see people that I embarrass myself in front of others often. I will make awkward eye contact with people I indirectly know and I never know if I should say something or not. It feeds into my inner awkwardness.
HC AU: What’s some advice you would give to an incoming freshman?
AW: Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. As someone who was very into her comfort zone coming here, I’m speaking from experience. I went to private school so I knew all the same people growing up and I never had to branch out. In college, it’s really important to break that barrier because it’s worth it. And study abroad! That will definitely push you out of your comfort zone in the best possible way. You will come back feeling like a brand new, confident person and it is amazing.
HC AU: What was your study abroad experience like? When you decided to study abroad were you nervous at all?
AW: I was 100% nervous going. I was acting so out of character my mom almost threatened to pull the plug. I thought it might be like freshman year again and I would have to make friends with all these new people. But when I got there – it might just have been London itself because that’s the city I feel like I need to be in – it was all just upwards from there. It was by far the best four months I’ve ever had in one of my favorite cities. I met some amazing people and got out of my comfort zone. It was by far one of my best experiences here at AU.
HC AU: If you could pick anywhere in the world to go, where would it be and why?
AW: Right now?
HC AU: Right now.
AW: I would be snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Australia’s so far away that to me it feels surreal to go there so that’d be a bomb trip to do. Maybe I would surf there and release my inner surfer.
HC AU: Do you have any hobbies?
AW: That’s a great question because I never really think about what my hobbies are. If Netflix counts as a hobby, that’s probably my hobby. I need a story but it has to be a funny story because my logic is there is so much drama and sadness out in the world already so if I am watching something or reading something, it better be funny to take me somewhere else. I also love exploring new places to eat and then taking pictures of them for my Instagram account – that is my pride and joy.
HC AU: What are some of your favorite places to go in DC?
AW: Right now it’s Chila Chicano which is Peruvian, Japanese and Chinese fusion and it is amazing. That, and Kramerbooks & Afterword Café. There’s food, there’s books, and there’s a patio: everything you could want.
HC AU: Is there anything else you want to add to make everyone fall in love with you before you leave?
AW: I don’t think that will happen but my parting words to the AU community are to enjoy your four years here. Everyone is always telling you how fast it will go by – but it really does go by fast. Next thing you know you’re a sophomore and you’re planning your abroad experience, you go abroad, and then you come back and it’s your senior year and then you blink and it’s May. Make the most of it. Explore. You have a whole city, don’t just regulate yourself to frat parties and Tenleytown. It’s conducinve to be young in D.C., so take advantage of that.
Re-live Arielle’s tremendous success as a Her Campus writer and as President by checking out the articles she has written over her 4 years HERE!
Cheers, Arielle! American University will miss you dearly but we know you have the brightest of futures ahead of you and we can’t wait to see what you will accomplish!
Photo Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 Belong to the Cutie, 6