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Abby McAuliffe
Career > Her20s

Senior Spotlight: Alexis Leira

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Emerson chapter.

Photo by Abby McAuliffe

Lexi is a senior member of Her Campus Emerson and will be graduating from Emerson College shortly.  Having worked closely with Lexi over the past few years, I know that she is going to do great things after graduating.  I remember meeting Lexi during my first year at Emerson, and I’m going to miss her so much when she is gone! Here is a little bit about Lexi for all of you who are wondering what makes her such a great person to, not only work with, but to be friends with.

Year of Graduation: 2019

Major/minor(s): WLP: Publishing major; Marketing and Latin American & Latinx Studies minors

Favorite part of Emerson: The people, for sure.

Best College Moment: When my suitemates and I ordered Indian food and watched a Saorise Ronan movie

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

How does it feel to be graduating?

I’m honestly so excited. Like most Emerson students, I packed my schedule up a lot with classes, work/internships, and orgs, so I’m really excited to have more free-time (hopefully) and never have to do homework again. But I’m also nervous because I still need to find a job.

What are your plans after graduation?

I wish I knew, lol. For now the plan is to finish my internship, continue hunting for a full-time job, and see friends and family.

Are you going to miss being in college?  Why or why not?

I’m going to miss the people (SO to Talia I’m gonna miss seeing you around so much) and the projects I got to work on. But I’m definitely not going to miss the homework and the stress that comes with being a student.

What is the hardest part about graduating (classwork, leaving friends, etc.)?

The hardest part is the uncertainty of what’s coming after graduation (and finals). So far I’m not planning on leaving Boston right after graduation, so I haven’t really dealt with thinking about leaving friends too much yet since we’ll (hopefully) still be in the same city.

What was your favorite class you got to take at Emerson and why?

Intro to Electronic Publishing with Teresa Elsey because I learned a lot about digital publishing and Teresa was a great professor.

Who was your favorite professor and why?

I’ve had quite a few amazing professors. Teresa Elsey, Robb Eason, Roxana Maiorescu-Murphy, Katerina Gonzalez Seligmann, Susanne Althoff, and Beth Parfitt (who I know for certain is no longer at Emerson). They were all really knowledgeable about their subject matter. Teresa was helpful and she let me meet with her to talk about her career since she basically had the job I want after graduating. Robb and Roxana are funny and lively in class, but you’ll still leave class learning something. Susanne and Professor Gonzalez Seligmann are professors I feel I can go to for advice.

What is your favorite restaurant in Boston?

To order from: Boston Pizza & Grill. To eat out at: the Friendly Toast (although I still love ordering from them) or Thai Basil.

What is your favorite place to go in Boston?

Trident (I’m a WLP through and through).

What is your favorite thing to do in Boston?

Walk around the Public Gardens (or pretty much any park), especially now that it’s spring and things are starting to bloom again.

What is your favorite part of being in Her Campus and what will you miss the most?

I’m really thankful for all the opportunities I had through Her Campus to write about cool events, or topics I’m passionate about. It was also really nice getting Survival Kits in the middle of the semester as a reminder that I can do this. I’ll definitely miss our staff the most (SO to Talia and Lee Ann).

What was your favorite part of being or Head Editor?

My favorite part of being Head Editor was getting to read articles from so many of our staff members each week and feel like I was collaborating with our members to publish the best content possible!

What is your advice for future editors?

Remember that your job as the editor is to help authors refine their voice, not shape the article (or any piece of writing) into the way you’d want it to be written.

Were you involved with any other Co-curriculars at Emerson?  If so, what are they and what will you miss most about them?

I was involved with Undergraduate Students for Publishing (through their E-Board, Wilde Press, and Generic) and Concrete Literary Magazine. I’ll definitely miss working on the book project each semester with Pub Club, getting to hear everyone’s highs and lows of the week at E-Board meetings, hearing about people’s takeaways when reading for Concrete, and working with great people in all the orgs.

What is one thing underclassmen should do before graduating college?

Explore your potential passions. Also, as someone who loves food, take that night to order food or get food from the Max with your friends and roommates/suitemates, and just talk or watch a movie. Some of my favorite nights are ones where I just got to take a breather with great people and just talk about random stuff or watch DCOMs.

What is one piece of advice you’d like to pass on to underclassmen?

Find a method of planning the week/month/semester that works best for you. Whether it’s getting a planner, using a dry-erase calendar, or logging your assignment due dates into Google Calendar, find a way that works for you to keep track of your stuff. Even if you’re going to save things until the last minute (we’re all guilty of doing this sometimes), it can be really helpful to know what’s ahead so you’re not suddenly taken by surprise about an assignment or an event right before you need to deal with it.

~BONUS QUESTIONS~

If you could be any animal what would you choose and why?

A manatee or a cat. Manatees are my favorite animal because they’re so cute, and I love cats, and I would get to sleep a lot so I’d love that, too.

If you could have any superpower what would you choose and why?

The power to heal other people because I would love to be able to help others (without having to invest the time, money, and brain-space to become a doctor).

If you could go either back in time or forward in time for one day (24 hours), where would you go and why?

Maybe five years from now so I’ll know if I have my life (somewhat) together, who’s still in my life, what new people I’ve met.

I am so thankful that I got the chance to write this spotlight for one of my closest friends here at Emerson to celebrate her graduation.  I have had the pleasure of working with Lexi over the past three years through classes and co-curriculars, and I am so thankful that we both happened to end up in so many classes together over my first two years at Emerson.  She is truly one of the most amazing people I have ever met, and I’m going to miss her dearly next year. This article doesn’t even begin to do justice to all of the wonderful, crazy, moments that we’ve been through together.  Lexi, I can’t wait to work with you in the industry we both love. If you think that graduating is going to stop the onslaught of messages every time Taylor Swift does something, you’re wrong.  It will still happen.  I am who I am (but I’m glad you are also the same). I love you, and I wish you absolutely all the best in the job hunt and after.   

We are really going to miss Lexi as part of our team, so on behalf of Her Campus Emerson, we hope to send her off in the one way we know how: with this article!  Lexi, we wish you the very best of luck in everything you do, congratulations on your graduation!

HCXO,

HC Emerson

 

Talia is the Campus Correspondent for Her Campus at Emerson. Talia is also a Chapter Advisor, Region Leader, and HSA Advisor. She has previously worked as an intern for the national headquarters of Her Campus in the community management department. Talia is a Writing, Literature, and Publishing major at Emerson College in a 4+1 combined bachelor's and master's program in publishing. She is an aspiring writer and publisher. Talia is known for living life with her journal, a pen, and three lovely cats.