Emerson has always been a chapter that liked to take risks, so emailing the chapter network to spotlight different Her Campus Chapters at other schools was no different. One of the schools that we have decided we wanted to introduce to you, is the chapter at Virginia Commonwealth University—VCU for short! VCU is located in Richmond, Virginia and their Her Campus chapter was founded in the Fall of 2011. Currently, their team is made up of 50 members, half of which is dedicated to all things public relations, the other half focused on the editorial content.
They tell us the school is a diverse and exciting place (the capital of Virginia), with about 24,000 undergraduate students—about six times bigger than the Emerson campus. But, like Emerson, they’re a city campus, so, “Our campus is integrated into the city rather than being set in one place. I feel integrated into the city and more immersed in the culture. There are always new places to go or see within walking distance of campus.” Among those 24,000 city kids, are the nine women who make up HCVCU’s e-board:
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President: Danielle Angell, a Senior majoring in Political Science & Philosophy of Law
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Editor in Chief: Mary McLean, a Junior majoring in Political Science & Media Studies
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Vice President/Event Director: Schuyler Corrigan, a Junior
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Senior Editor: Andrea Kanieck,i a Sophomore majoring in Mass Communications
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Social Media Director: Kyiala Schellmann, a Senior majoring in Health Sciences
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Marketing Director: Hudson Dizon, a Sophomore majoring in Criminal Justice & Homeland Security
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Head Photographer: Garnette Ransone, a 2nd year Grad student for Teaching, BA in English
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Co-Operations Directors: Victoria Nguyen, a Sophomore majoring in Journalism, & Elizabeth Coate, a Sophomore majoring in Marketing
As far as content goes, these students don’t shy away from thought-provoking topics. Their favorite articles of the last year include a hard-hitting piece about women’s rights: “The ERA and Why It Matters” by Kaitlyn Austin. Their resident, “tell it like it is” writer, Noelle Abrahams wrote a great piece about online birth control! And even their new members are catching attention, like this piece by Tara Swamy, “An Open Letter to My Major.” And while profiles aren’t as common for this campus, they still do some great work, like this piece, about Dr. Claire McKinney, a pro-choice advocate, by one of their recently graduated members, Aja Moore.
But like I said, content is only half of the VCU’s team, so you know they’re doing some really great events. Their public relations team, which includes positions like publicists, event planners, photographers, and graphic designers, manages about three monthly events—one for publicity, one for philanthropy, and one social media based giveaway. This year, they’re hosting the Mid-Atlantic Conference for the third year in a row, where they “invite chapters from all across the east coast to come to VCU to participate in a conference all about women empowerment. [They] have speakers from all different walks of life to come talk to [the group] as well as network with each other.” The Conference provided the team with some of their favorite memories and moments in team-bonding, and they’re hoping to continuously grow its size and impact, so keep an eye out for more information on their page.
From the Spring 2019 Conference
Another one of their goals is to grow their social media following, which makes sense for a growing chapter like theirs: “The bigger we grow our social media, the more people on campus will come out to see us as well as check out our articles.” Other than finding them on social media, you can also get involved at the SOVO fair (Student Organization and Volunteer Opportunities), which happens at the beginning of every semester, or you can attend one of their monthly publicity events to learn more.
As a closer, when asked about three words to describe their chapter, the team says diverse, creative, and caring. They say: “Our student body allows us to have a diverse team which is amazing because you get to work with people who have such different backgrounds so we always have a wide array of ideas brought to the table.” Diversity seems to beget creativity, and both of those intertwine with the ability to be caring. The team is so willing to “help one another out. Every month in our philanthropy events, the team comes up with great ideas to help other people.”
You can connect with HCVCU on these profiles:
HC Page: https://www.hercampus.com/school/vcu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HerCampusVCU/?epa=SEARCH_BOX
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HerCampusatVCU
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hercampusatvcu/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hercampusvcu/