Meet our brand new Executive Team! This week we talked to our Senior Editor Aija and Marketing & Publicity Director Camilla about Her Campus, academics and pizza.
You can find interviews with Campus Correspondents Mari and Aino here, and Social Media Director Maija here.
Can you tell us a little bit about who you are?
Camilla: Hi, there! I’m Camilla Gabrielsson (friends just call me Cami or CamCam for short) and for the moment this is my 6th year at the University of Helsinki. My major is French philology, and, between the years, I’ve gathered quite a vast number of (naturally, cool!) minors, such as communication, literature studies, aesthetics, Finno-Ugric languages and Cultures (especially Finnish and Estonian) and pedagogical studies etc. In some way, all of these subjects are my passions which I try to cultivate the best way I can.
Aija: Hello! I’m Aija and I’m a fifth-year English major. My minors are Scandinavian Languages (so mostly Swedish), the Pedagogical Studies for Teachers, and Method Studies in Linguistics and Literary Research.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Aija: I like to see my friends, watch TV, eat, sleep, knit, draw…nothing that special. And I love to travel when I’m on holiday, if I get a chance.
Camilla: First of all, music, arts and dancing all interest me greatly. I simply love studying song lyrics and pondering what the artist is trying to convey with a particular piece. Yet, having to study and to read often at uni, I’ve had to cut back on some of my reading hobbies to catch some air by jogging and hanging on the nearby beach. There’s just something in that salty sea wind that makes me positive towards life. In addition, I’m very in tuned to LGBTQ topics, and, just for a little confession between you and me, my biggest guilty pleasure is watching RuPaul’s Drag Race – I just can’t get enough of my Queens!
What got you interested in Her Campus in the first place?
Camilla: I’m not the one to be shy about my opinions so self-expression has always been near to my heart. That’s the biggest reason I wanted to join Her Campus in the first place. But I noticed, during my time with Her Campus at Helsinki, that the editorial staff was full of cool and inspirational people, which gave me the motivation to develop my own writing and communication skills in the media sector. So, in a way, I wanted to join due to my curiosity towards media and communication, but I wanted to stay because of the people I met in Her at Campus Helsinki.
Aija: I first heard of Her Campus when I got an email about a bake sale they were having, and I was intrigued by the idea of a magazine run (mainly) by college/university women. When I got involved I was a bit nervous about having anything I have to say published online, but I’ve found it to be really good practice for writing, and for building self-confidence, too.
What do you think are going to be the best things about your new role in the team?
Aija: I’ve never really done editing work before, so I think I’m going to learn many new things about it, which should be very useful. Besides, it’ll be fun to work with all my wonderful HC teammates again this year, whether it’s about editing, writing, planning events, or something else.
Camilla: Honestly, getting the chance to develop our magazine is going to be an awesome opportunity. In addition, I feel that our team is full of creative and passionate people, so I can’t wait to start planning the future of Her Campus Helsinki together! I’m always trying to find new skills that I want to improve, so I believe my new role in Her Campus Helsinki is going to be a perfect answer for just that!
What plans do you have for this academic year, with Her Campus or otherwise?
Camilla: Generally speaking, balancing between my master’s thesis and Her Campus at Helsinki means that I’m trying to learn how to divide time efficiently during my days. I think students and people in general would greatly benefit from learning how to be kinder to oneself with school and work related things. With Her Campus, I’m going to try my best to give a positive input towards our awesome magazine by developing our PR, advertising and social media teams.
Aija: With Her Campus, I’m going to continue in the writing team besides helping Aino with editing. Otherwise, I’m hoping to complete my MA thesis by the end of the spring, and perhaps my Swedish studies as well.
And the most important question of all: favorite pizza toppings?
Aija: That’s a tough one, because I’ve liked pretty much all the pizzas I’ve ever had. There should always be at least of kind of cheese, though. And I do like shrimp on pizza.
Camilla: Everything unhealthy!