Meet Elizabeth Berry, a junior at Connecticut College who hails from Reading, MA. She is an English and Italian Studies double major and CISLA scholar. Elizabeth has been involved with Her Campus Conn since her sophomore year and is also a National Writer and Trendsetter for Her Campus Media. Read on to learn more about this feminist, Friends-loving foodie!
What is your CISLA project?
My Senior Integrative Project (SIP) will focus on feminist journalism from the 1970s in Italy up to modern day. I hope to conduct my internship at a publication in Milan or Florence.
Are you planning on going abroad? If so, where, and what do you hope to accomplish?
Sì! Next semester I will be studying abroad in Bologna, Italy through the Brown in Italy program. I will be staying through the summer in order to complete my funded international internship through CISLA. I am hoping to make and eat a lot of pasta, improve my Italian, and travel to other European countries!
What are your extracurricular activities?
I am both a writer for Her Campus Conn, as well as a Trendsetter and national writer for Her Campus Media. I have been involved with Her Campus since my sophomore year at Conn and I only wish that I become involved with the organization sooner! In addition, I am one of the arts-section editors for Conn’s newspaper The College Voice, which I continue to write for in each issue. I am also co-president of the Italian Club and am one of the Social Media Interns for the Office of Admissions. In my free time, I like to visit cute cafes off campus, go on walks in the Arbo with my friends, watch poorly made rom-coms on Netflix, and run on the treadmill in the AC while listening to the podcast My Favorite Murder.
That’s so impressive that you started your own club! What have been the most rewarding aspects of starting the Italian Club, and what has been the most challenging?
We have organized two successful gelato nights in partnership with Knowlton House, the language dorm on campus. Seeing all of the students that came to the event made me really happy because I was able to share my love for Italy with other camels. On the flip side, it can be difficult to organize events and keep up with all of the emails that result when you propose a new idea, but in the end it is always worth it.
What is your favorite…
Study spot?
The Walk In in Ruane’s Den! A lot of my friends work at Coffee Closet, so I always order an iced coffee or almond milk latte to start off my day. I love working at a coffee shop rather than the library because I feel like a freelance writer trying to make it in NYC.
Hot/caffeinated beverage?
The Bee’s Knees from Coffee Closet, especially with oat milk. This speciality latte comes with honey and cinnamon mixed in with espresso and foamy milk.
Song?
It’s gotta be some Beatles song, probably “Every Little Thing”
TV Show?
Easy: Friends. Could I be any more basic?
Quote?
I think I am going to have to go with something from Harry Potter for this one. As the wise Albus Dumbledore once said, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
You’ve made a name for yourself as a foodie with your food instagram account @healthy_eclair. When did you first realize your passion for food, and what drove you to start the account?
I realized I had a passion for food when I had an itch to photograph my meals, even if it was just a PB&J sandwich. I became fascinated by the composition of photographs of food and how this new media trend is an ironic form of consumption. Although I am participating in a culture that often perpetuates low self-esteem when it comes to what we eat and how we look, I try to make my feed more real and approachable so my followers can see that I am just another girl trying to conquer the dining halls.
After eating far too many bowls of cereal my freshman year at college, I decided to make an Instagram account dedicated to how to eat as a college student. I didn’t feel like there was an account like this that existed (at least that I could find), and I really wanted to inspire students to look at the food they have access to in the dining halls in a more creative way.
Do you plan on integrating food, healthy eating, wellness, etc. in your academics or career interests?
I enrolled in Food Reading and Writing last semester with Professor Soffer. This English course opened my eyes to food and creative writing. Moving forward, I hope to integrate my passion for writing about healthy eating and wellness into my interest in journalism. I don’t want to necessarily limit myself to being a food critic, but if The New Yorker called, I wouldn’t say no.
What is your favorite off-campus restaurant?
Hands down, Oyster Club in Mystic. Although it is REALLY expensive, it has become a special treat between my mom and me. We have only been twice, but both times the food was fresh and delicious. It made up for the sad salads I had been eating for the past week.
What is your absolute dream job?
Definitely being a writer for The Cut, a subsection of The New York Magazine. Or a cast member on SNL, really either or.
And, more realistically, what do you see yourself doing post-grad?
Something with writing, even if I am just copy-editing an economics textbook I want to be exposed to the writing world and all its chaos. It both excites and challenges me.
What advice would you give to your past self?
Stop comparing yourself to others. I am still struggling with this myself, but I believe that the sooner you can detach yourself from unhealthy comparisons to your peers and just focus on you, the sooner you will be truly happy in life.