Recently I spoke at Her Conference: High School 2015, which was held in Boston last Saturday on February 7th.
Her Conference: High School is an annual, day-long conference that focuses on helping high school girls prepare for, apply to, and transition successfully into college. This year it was hosted at Northeastern University, and it was widely attended by Boston-area high school students and their families.
The speakers at the conference ranged from college admissions officers to college consultants, nutritionists, founders of preparatory programs, and current college students (i.e., yours truly!), all coming to speak about topics related to collegiate success. Sponsors included Pinkberry, Chipotle, Dormify, Signet Education, and StudioC.
After taking a 45 minute T ride from Harvard to Northeastern, I arrived just in time for check-in and breakfast. I was handed my “Speaker” nametag and the program for the day. Thumbing through the program, I found my bio printed neatly in black and white under “Panel Block B.” My panel was called “Acing Freshman Year: Study Tips to Adjust to College Academics,” and it was slated to begin at 12:15 PM.
In the meantime I went to check out the nice spread that they had laid out for the program participants. Breakfast was catered by Pinkberry, and it was delicious. Think Greek yogurt topped with fresh berries and granola, bagels lathered with cream cheese, and fancy apple-flavored water. Yum!
The first keynote speaker was a college admissions officer from Northeastern. He spoke candidly about what colleges were looking for in potential applicants, played an interactive game with volunteers to demonstrate how the admissions process worked, and fielded questions from members of the audience. Afterwards we headed to the first panel of speakers. There we heard about topics ranged from packing for college to finding the best fit school to staying safe on a college campus.
Before the second panel of speakers started, I ventured out to find the conference room I was supposed to be speaking at. There I met my fellow Her Conference speakers—Lindsay, a sophomore from Northeastern, and Blake, a junior from Boston College—two amazing women who were resident experts at acing their college classes and managing their time. Briefly we exchanged pleasantries before fielding questions about academic life in front of an audience of eager high school students.
Soon enough the last question was answered, and we were done. As a thank-you gift for speaking, we each received a ton of free swag—coupons, vouchers, notebooks, bags, tumblrs, makeup, even a stunning Origami Owl charm necklace on a 30-inch silver chain (retail value: $100+). I had no idea this gig came with so many perks!
Overall, Her Conference: High School 2015 was a well-organized event and a really lovely experience. I’m excited to see the kind of events that Her Campus will organize in the future!