For my journalism class this semester, I had to write a profile piece about someone in their career. As I’ve moved through my first year of both college and Her Campus, I have been interested in the Her Campus National Team and the overall company. After seeing their Office Chit-Chats and everything on their Instagram, I reached out to Gina Escandon, HC Nationals Beauty Editor, and she was honestly the nicest person I’ve ever met!
She met me with a hug when I made the trip to Boston, and I was quickly welcomed into the Her Campus headquarters. Walking into the office with Gina was like walking into a heaven filled with girls supporting girls vibes. I probably would have never left if I wasn’t going to be fined for not returning the audio recorder to school. I left with the passion to work harder and support everything Gina and the Her Campus team does. Here is part of my interview with Gina so you can get inspired too:
- What was your major in college?
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“I double majored in English and Theatre, but I didn’t think that I was going into journalism or media. I always really liked books, so I thought maybe I would do something with publishing or something with writing. But I discovered Her Campus sophomore year of college and was like – wait, this is so fun. It was this cute little writing club on campus. Then, the more I got involved with it, I realized how big an organization it was. As I got more involved with Nationals, I learned that I wanted to be a part of this on a bigger level.”
- Why did you want to focus on beauty at Her Campus?
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“When I started working at Her Campus, I was an associate editor who oversaw the style and beauty sections. Then I realized I had no interest in style whatsoever. Beauty kind of fell into my lap naturally and I thought it was really perfect. I also think in the time we are at now, beauty has a lot more meaning because it’s not just putting on winged eyeliner and watching Youtube tutorials. A lot of what is happening in beauty right now is tied to wellness and self-care.
I think there are a lot of conversations with brands and communities out there ready to make beauty something bigger. Not just in terms of self-expression, but really taking care of yourself and making yourself feel good – because those things shape your identity. That has been what beauty has evolved into for me this year because the world is burning and everyone wants to just put on a serum, do a face mask, sit under a weighted blanket, deal with their anxiety, and try not to be upset all the time. I think this space right now is really cool to be in because it’s a lot more than talking about products, it’s talking about what is happening actually in our culture.”
- What does being a beauty editor mean to you?
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“Being a beauty editor for me means a lot of the obvious – so of course, a lot of writing and editing all about what’s happening in the beauty sphere (skincare, makeup, hair care… all of that sort of thing). I think at Her Campus, being a beauty editor is a lot more unique because our audience is college women. That means we are really only talking about beauty in a way that is relevant to college women in this larger societal context. What they are looking for in beauty is often more affordable, playful and very accessible, compared to women who are adults. It’s a really unique audience, so every day is different.”
- What is your everyday working at Her Campus?
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“When I come in in the morning, I take a half hour to get settled, look at my Google calendar for the day, answer any of the really pressing emails, make a coffee, look at what’s happening on Twitter and see what’s happened in the news. Then I’ll dive in. I spend a lot of time, in very non-glamorous ways, editing pieces with our writers.
I see Her Campus as a really wonderful point in media. We still get to do a lot of mentorship and teaching. My job as an editor is cool because I can have this more entry-level conversation about grammar and how to develop your own author voice. I really like that aspect because it doesn’t just feel like being an editor, it also feels like I get to be a mentor. While that’s a lot more time consuming than just getting to publish content, it’s definitely fun to be a lot more involved with it. So that takes up a bulk of my day: chatting with writers, workshopping their pieces and teaching new skills.
I’ll definitely do a little bit of writing myself and then another huge chunk of my day is running our toddler Instagram account for beauty. We have our normal @HerCampus account then we also have @HerCampusBeauty, which just launched two weeks ago. I make a lot of my own graphics for it and also engage with a lot of college beauty influencers and women who are in chapters, just all of our different communities. Also, regramming and hyping up the work they are doing.”
- What is it like to be a women in media today?
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“Being a woman in media today, I would say, is super exciting on a personal level, but kind of overwhelming to think about in a larger context. Here [at Her Campus] as a woman in media, I feel really secure and encouraged – which is something not everyone else has. My favorite part about being a woman in media right now is that it just is a very empowering space, and I feel like a lot of women are getting to use their voices, be a dominant person in the newsroom, get to be creative and be the stars of the show.
This is my personal experience, but Her Campus really nurtures our female editors to explore all our interests. One day I’m going to talk about this amazing face mask, but the next day I’m going to talk about, like, vibrators and sex tech, and then the next day I’m going to talk about the election that is coming up. So, I feel like women aren’t limited to being like one thing in media – we really can do it all!”