As the end of my college journey is approaching, I am reflecting on the many blessings I have had in the past four years. One of them is this very platform: HerCampus. A magazine I knew nothing about when I started university, but to whom I now owe so many great gifts. It is breaking my heart that I will soon have to depart from school and leave my chapter behind, but there is a little time left for one last article.
I want to make this a “thank you letter” to the company and my chapter most specifically.
Thank you for seeing potential in me
When I submitted my candidature for a writer’s position, I had never written for an online platform before. Not even a blog. I wrote little articles here and there for my cegep newspaper (which were filled with embarrassing typos), but never on a consistent basis and under the umbrella of an actual brand. Her Campus seemed so grand and impressive to me; but Krystal Carthy and Kylee Ross made it feel extremely warm and welcoming. They did not hesitate twice to take me in and it gave me the boost I needed to write week after week.
Thank you for offering me opportunities to lead
Pretty early in my journey with the Concordia chapter, the Instagram content manager position became vacant. I applied and concocted a portfolio and submitted it and got approved. I worked closely with the social media manager of our chapter whose feedback and corrections were always very insightful. In the matter of months, I took over her position. She departed to focus on other committees she was involved in and trusted me with the position. It was the first time I had ever managed a group for creative and social media content related. It was stressful, but exciting. Girls would report to me for their daily posts and I would be in charge of approving and editing them! My incentives were never questioned and the chapter founders always welcomed my innovative ideas.
Thank you for making me a better writer
When I started with Her Campus, I wrote very sloppy articles. English is my second language and although I am very comfortable in speaking instances – writing is a different ball game. It was disappointing at first to see so many coloured marks and comments whenever the editors would send me my article for final edits. Instead of beating myself up, I took the time to read the comments and learn from my mistakes. Little by little, the corrections would become and less dense.
At the end of March 2019, I published my first book. An accomplishment that I do not believe would have taken place without the writing skills Her Campus provided me with!
Thank you for giving me a platform to voice my opinions
It is no secret that I am a very opinionated person. I am expressive, emotional and passionate about many topics. However, sometimes it does get hard for me to express myself on certain topics: religion, sex, race, mental health, etc. I always had this panoply of thoughts floating in my head that I so desperately wanted to share, but was not sure how. Being part of Her Campus gave me a space to express those closeted opinions. If I did not get to say something aloud during an argument, I knew I could simply write about it for my next week’s submission. It was both freeing and therapeutic.
Thank you for your patience, kindness and sisterhood
Thank you for being more than co-writers, editors, founders, chapter president and vice-president. Through coffee pictures, desserts meetups, good food, inside jokes and words of encouragement, you have granted me the joy of knowing such empowering women. To create social media content, I often had to read through everyone’s articles; it never felt like extra work. The ladies of Concordia-CA, you have been entertaining and informative. It has been nothing but inspiring to read all of your articles, and call you my peers.