It’s the most wonderful time of the year… to be a Her Campus girl! Illinois State University’s Her Campus team has been working hard all semester long to bring you relatable and inspiring content. During our very first Week of Gratitude, the HC ISU team decided it was time to show how grateful we are for each other and the beautiful campus we get to share. Check out the article below to get to know a little bit about each of our amazing writers and why they love being HC girls!
Whitney Scasny, Editor-in-Chief
Whitney is a senior public relations major who is excited to finally be graduating in December. She is mostly excited to return home so she can permanently be with her dog, Baxter. Whitney is known for abbreviating all of her words, constant hair flips, and truly believing she is an actual mermaid. She spends the majority of her free time eating, laughing at everything, planning her next tropical get-away, and taking pretty pictures of nature. Whitney loves Her Campus because it provides a creative outlet for her to pursue her love of writing. She has held multiple leadership positions with HC ISU since joining her junior year, but Editor-in-Chief has been her favorite. Whitney’s ultimate goal is to make her dog Insta-famous and rise up with him (@baxtabillion), but if that doesn’t work then she wishes to become a luxury real estate broker and part-time beach bum in Florida.
Chloe Kasper, Editor-in-Chief
Chloe Kasper is a junior at Illinois State University majoring in public relations with a double minor in Latin American and Latino/a studies and Women and Gender studies. Chloe has been a member of Her Campus since her freshman year, first as a writer, then as Senior Editor, and now as Editor-in-Chief. Outside of Her Campus, Chloe is also the Treasurer of Illinois State University’s Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. When she is not taking care of her responsibilities as Editor-in-Chief and Treasurer, Chloe is usually found power walking through the quad to class, Pepsi in hand while listening to none other than her idol Queen Bey. In her free time, Chloe enjoys all things music, practicing yoga, watching too many romantic-comedies (specifically 27 Dresses on repeat), and spending time with her loved ones. Chloe loves being a part of Her Campus because it allows her to connect with her peers in a creative way that goes beyond weekly meetings and helps her continue to grow as a young collegiate woman. Chloe thanks readers for all of their support of Her Campus and hopes the content shared continues to bring smiles and inspiration!
Heather Tidwell, Senior Editor
If you want to please Heather, buy her an iced coffee and a pop culture magazine. Heather Tidwell is senior public relations major and writing minor, who loves everything fashion and celebrity related. Her love for writing began at a young age but truly kicked off when she came to ISU and began her major and minor classes. Although writing in class was fun for her, Her Campus became her preferred writing outlet. With a passion for beauty, fashion and everything girly, she was quick to realize Her Campus was her place to be. When she isn’t writing for the online magazine, Heather loves to grab an iced coffee from Starbucks with her Tri Delta sisters or watch E! with her roommates. While obtaining a leadership position in her sorority, five classes, as well as two academic internships, Heather does not mind fitting Her Campus into her busy schedule.
Mallory Lovings, Senior Editor
Some people may mistake her as Beyoncé, when in reality she is just a girl who makes failed attempts to wake up flawless every day. Mallory Lovings is a junior journalism major at ISU who aspires to have her own talk show one day… because someone’s got to take over Oprah, right? In her free time she enjoys watching cat videos, crying over McDreamy and choreographing her own music videos in her head even though she has no dance experience. She dreams to live a life that includes mac n’ cheese at least once a day without her gaining any weight. If you’re ever looking for Mallory around campus… don’t waste your time looking at the gym (check up in 2017 and see if the New Year’s resolution actually happens). She enjoys being apart of Her Campus because not only has she met amazing girls through the organization, but she’s also able to write about anything that matters from Justin Bieber’s butt to the lack of sympathy Shonda Rhimes has towards her victims (a.k.a the viewers of Grey’s Anatomy).
Katie Sall, Director of Social Media
Meet Katie Sall, a junior English Education major minoring in TESOL studies. She hopes to be a high school English teacher but has contemplated fleeing the country to teach English elsewhere with the current presidential election. Writing takes up most of her time whether it’s for Her Campus, class, or her personal blog. She has been published in ISU’s literary journal Euphemism and hopes to one day write a book about something she hasn’t figured out yet, which is typically how she plans most things she does. When she’s not writing she’s probably reading something random she bought on sale at Good Will, taking pictures of things she thinks are ordinarily breathtaking on her Nikon, or eating (most of the time it’s the latter of the three). Her doctor has prescribed her to eat dessert every day for the rest of her life as a means to compensate for her runs on constitution trail, which she only does because the elderly people who wave at her restore her hope in humanity. Pizza and presidents are deep passions of hers (yes, as in Lou’s deep dish) and if she had to pick a favorite bird it would definitely be a pelican. The simple things in life make her happy, Forrest Gump is her biggest hero, and without her family she wouldn’t be a Blackhawks fan, Cubs North Sider, or typical middle child.
Sammie Cedano, Marketing and Publicity Director
Sammie Cedano is in her first semester of her junior year, majoring in Interpersonal Communication Studies. You can find this girl in her room procrastinating by watching reruns of “Shameless” or skyping her awesome boyfriend from New Jersey planning their next trip. When she actually does decide to do her work she is listening to the late but great David Bowie or listens to old emo music because she just can’t let go. Her hobbies other than Her Campus are looking online at clothes she won’t buy, judging people from high school on Facebook and testing her boyfriend’s patience in the most loving way possible. She is supposed for be graduating in 2018 but will throw on an extra semester just for fun. Once she finally does graduate she wants to move to New Jersey and become a wedding planner in New York. She’s cool…I mean if you like the best type of people.
Arielle Steward, Marketing and Publicity Assistant
Arielle is a junior majoring in public relations. She was born and raised in Chicago. She is Black, Puerto Rican and Polish and LOVES Puerto Rican food! While at ISU, Arielle has been a part of WZND, Her Campus, and as of last semester, a chartering member of her sorority, Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. Arielle plans to study abroad in Panama next summer and maybe even Spain her last semester at ISU. Her ultimate career goal is to work at Hearst Corporation working with Glamour Magazine and Marie Claire and living in New York. Her favorite season is Fall because she gets to wear all of her favorite styles, such as boots, scarves and leather jackets. Arielle is also President of the Multicultural Greek Council and cannot wait to continue her role on the council. If you see Arielle on campus, feel free to say hi!
Renata Serpico, Secretary/Treasurer
Renata Serpico is a freshman early childhood education major here at Illinois State University. She is involved on campus by being a member of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, a Golden Apple Scholar, and of course, Her Campus! This is her first year on the Her Campus writing team, but watch out – she is also the Secretary and Treasurer position, despite only being a freshman. She enjoys catching up on all of the shows she starts to watch on Netflix and then falls behind on (#BingeWatchingQueen) because she is so busy. When she finds free time in her crazy schedule, she also enjoys taking photos of different places on and off campus with her Canon T5i Rebel – which also doubles as her child because she loves it so much. Renata loves music: some of her favorite artists include Twenty One Pilots, Bastille and older Maroon 5. She is also in the Illinois State Women’s Choir. She is very good at multi-tasking – she juggles being in two registered RSOs on campus, a sorority, and most importantly, a student. Her planner is her most prized possession and without it, her life would fall to pieces. She loves that she is a part of the Her Campus team, because she is still able to write and express her ideas even though she is not a writing major. Renata cannot wait to see what the future holds in store for her at Illinois State and as a part of the Her Campus team!
Allison O’Brien, Events Assistant
Allison O’Brien is a junior fashion merchandising major here at ISU. She loves to stay busy and super involved, so multiple coffees a day is definitely a must for her! Allison serves as the treasurer for the Fashion Design and Merchandising Association and is also co-directing the Illinois State Fashion Show this year. She is obsessed with every aspect of the fashion world and you can always catch her reading magazines and scrolling though Insta to stay in the know about the latest trends. When she finally has free time in her busy schedule, she’s usually wishing she could be bff’s with Kendall Jenner or re-watching “Gilmore Girls” on Netflix for the eighth time. This is Allison’s first semester writing for Her Campus and she loves that she can be creative with her writing and relate to others through it.
Ashleigh Lalla, Writer
Ashleigh Lalla, better known as “Lalla” or “the girl with the weird dance moves,” is a junior at Illinois State University and is majoring in journalism. She joined the Her Campus team this fall and is also a member of her sorority, Delta Zeta. She loves being in Greek Life and is involved by being DZ’s Social Media chair, so don’t be surprised if you constantly see her on Insta, Twitter and Tumblr. Ashleigh also does the education segments on ISU’s TV-10 and dreams of pursuing journalism in California one day as either a writer or news reporter. Ashleigh’s a very social person and definitely has a bad case of FOMO (fear of missing out). When she’s not spending every moment she can with her bff’s, chances are you’ll find her having hour long phone calls with her mom or cuddled up in bed finding new shows to binge watch on Netflix (even though nothing will ever compare to “Gossip Girl”). Some of her favorite things include pizza (with hot sauce of course), blasting music in car rides with her friends, and going on Dunkin’ coffee runs. Ashleigh’s favorite thing about Her Campus is that she has been able to meet so many other people who have a love for writing and encourage her creativity. Her Campus has been an awesome organization to become involved in and she’s so happy she’s become a part of the team!
Emily Long, Writer
Emily Long is a sophomore mass media-television production major here at ISU. This is her second year writing for Her Campus and she absolutely loves it. A tad short of sugar, spice and absolutely nuts, she is the person you’ll want to talk to if you’ve ever wondered why french fries haven’t already been considered as one of our daily natural food groups. She is involved on campus and tbh you’ve probably seen her around running frantically away from the killer squirrels on campus. She doesn’t care if you think they’re harmless. They just get way to close and are way too fast for comfort. Don’t you DARE try and pull anything on her. Alright, alright, she knows you’re just dying to know everything about her. Here it goes: she’s 19 and has a weird obsession with her pug, Daisy. She met Justin Bieber when she was 15-years-old and her life has been forever changed since. She loves comedy and once she starts laughing, good luck getting her to stop. In her dreams she meets Channing Tatum…and you can figure out the rest. She is in Alpha Omicron Pi and a DJ for our school’s radio. This is getting long, so she’s just going to cut it off right here before she says something even more outrageous.
Tara Babic, Writer
Tara is a junior at ISU majoring in Public Relations with a double minor in Civic Engagement and Responsibility/Mass Media. Some of her favorite things include waiting for Drake and Rihanna to get married, eating chipotle and binge watching “Friends.” Tara is a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority and works at Olive Garden. Her life goal is to return to the greatest place on earth, otherwise known as Amsterdam, Netherlands. She enjoys writing for Her Campus because she is able to write about and give credit to awesome people on campus.
Kayla Williams, Writer
Hello world, her name is Kayla Tiana Williams and obviously she’s a writer for Her Campus. She is also a news reporter for TV-10. She’s a huge lover of food, cooking food, looking at food, eating food, and all things food. She loves writing for Her Campus because it is the one place that she can say what she’s really thinking and write what she wants to write about and everyone is super supportive of her ideas. She gets all her inspiration from real life. She will literally be walking to class or sitting up talking to her roommates about the struggles they face and then BAM! An idea hits her just like that. People would describe her as very outgoing, weird, quirky, and she’s also a bit of drama queen and does the most. But it’s all in her personality and she loves it. She’s really body positive and all about building a love and a respect for your body. The selfie has honestly made her fall in love with herself. There is something about snapping a hot photo of yourself that makes a girl feel great. We all have issues with our body but it is so important to be able to accept you as you are now. She must admit she’s still on the journey to being completely comfortable in her own skin, but she’ll get there one day. Life is too short to always feel like you are not enough. You are enough, and you are beautiful just the way you are. Every girl deserves to feel beautiful. Her ultimate goal in life is to inspire people and women in general. She is currently a junior at ISU majoring in Journalism and minoring in theater. Catch me on social media!
Dania De La Hoya, Writer
Dania De La Hoya is a sophomore at Illinois State University majoring in journalism and minoring in French. When she isn’t writing for Her Campus, she can be found binge-watching her favorite shows on Netflix (Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl and The Walking Dead being her top three), writing for Wattpad.com, eating her own weight in guacamole, or procrastinating her many responsibilities. Besides Her Campus, Dania is also involved in Phi Sigma Pi and 103.3 WZND. Dania dreams of one day being a reporter for a major news network and becoming a published author. She loves writing for Her Campus because it allows her to cover a wide range of fun topics and do what she loves most: write.
Liz Gomez, Writer
Liz Gomez is a Senior Interpersonal Communication major. She is also a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority and has previously served on the executive board as Public Relations Vice President. When she’s not writing, you can catch Liz rollerblading, eating sushi, obsessing over pugs, and pretending she’s not graduating in May (but mostly obsessing over pugs). One of her talents includes being able to recite every line of “Nacho Libre.” She would love to travel after graduation, and hopes to work and live in downtown Chicago. This is Liz’s first year writing for Her Campus, and she loves it because it lets her channel her sarcastic humor into something productive and entertaining.
Stephanie Rodriguez, Writer (Not Pictured)
Stephanie Rodriguez is a junior broadcast journalism major with minors in Spanish and political science. Stephanie is a news reporter for both The Vidette newspaper and TV-10 here on campus. Along with that she is also the public relations officer for the ISU Spanish Club. Stephanie enjoys being busy but loves being able to relax at home and watch her favorite shows. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Chicago suburb of Elgin, Stephanie lives with her mom, grandma, brother, two dogs and cats. Her cats are old and fat but she still loves them. Last summer Stephanie worked as a summer camp counselor at the YMCA and now has a new appreciation for anti-lice spray. Stephanie hopes to become a television reporter after she graduates in May 2018.
The women of the HC ISU team thank you for all of your engagement and continued support! Check us out on social media to learn more about our team and our first ever Week of Gratitude!