Hi. It’s been a while. I haven’t written an article for Her Campus KU in three years (yikes!). Though I can’t really call myself a writer for Her Campus KU anymore, HCKU has impacted me in so many ways. I joined our chapter the very first meeting of my freshman year and just kept coming back. As my time at the University of Kansas comes to an end, I wanted to reflect back on my time in Her Campus and what Her Campus KU did for me.
Spring of 2021 – Where it all began
In 2021, I was a high school senior. While I had joined some clubs in high school and was on my school’s yearbook staff for a few years, I had never taken any leadership roles outside of volunteer programs that weren’t affiliated with my school. I knew in college I wanted that to change. Except, I wasn’t completely sure where I wanted to go. By late April, as all of my friends had finalized where they wanted to go, I was still deciding between multiple universities, and KU wasn’t very high on that list.
I also got really into online solitaire and card games around this time (I even wrote an article about it!), and one of the websites had a pop up ad from an Her Campus article from HC at Michigan State. I almost never paid attention to any of the ads until then. Something about an organization targeted towards women really appealed to me, and something that allowed me to write about essentially anything I wanted was intriguing. I immediately looked at the list of chapters in the country and noticed that KU was on that list (and notably, none of the other schools I was thinking about had chapters at that time).
I wish I could say Her Campus was the deciding factor or the main reason I chose to go to KU, but unfortunately it’s a lot more embarrassing than that. I was looking for a sign to see what I should do about my college career and my guidance counselor told me to sleep on it. I had a dream about Baby Jay (yes our mascot) and the rest was history.
Summer of 2021 – the first steps
In the summer of 2021, I somehow found a really old Her Campus email that none of us ever used and emailed begging to join Her Campus KU. Looking back, very much not necessary, considering we accept members through a google form, but my interest put me on the map in a way, because the president at the time responded and told me how I could keep up with HCKU. I then immediately made an Instagram account. Somehow all the years I had a phone, and countless attempts from my friends to get me to make an Instagram account, it was only to see the application link that got me to finally create one. Of course, the first and only account I followed for a while was the Her Campus KU Instagram.
I had always thought of Instagram as an especially toxic place, and while it does have its cons for sure, looking at the posts on the HCKU Instagram really inspired me to relearn how to make graphics and improve my content making skills, and I’m grateful it’s been a place that allows us to foster creativity.
Freshman Year of college
In the fall of 2021, I started my freshman year and I joined the writing team. This was one of the only clubs I knew about on campus, so I wanted to make the most of it. Of course, I wasn’t the best at socializing, and hardly ever spoke at any of the meetings I went to. This would soon change in the second semester.
Growing up, I was always super insecure about how I dressed and how I looked, and hardly ever took pictures. I’m not sure what exactly inspired me to go to the HCKU Valentine’s Day photoshoot, but I’m glad I did. That night I spoke to the president at the time, Deema, and we instantly clicked. I started talking more during meetings, feeling more confident in discussing my articles, and as I started to join more and more clubs, I made more friends and became better at starting my own conversations.
I also started to get recognized for my articles and my involvement in Her Campus. I got article of the week multiple times and even got member of the month!
I was pretty much writing every week, and I never got tired of it (idk what I was on back then because writing this article took me forever). Some of my favorites include: How R Kelly Was Finally Found Guilty, The NFT Celebrity Trend Seems Cult-Like (thank goodness that trend died out), and The Gym Doesn’t Have to be the Answer (I do go to the gym everyday now I fear but I stand by that article still! It’s not the answer!). Then I didn’t write for three years, but for good reason!
In April of 2022, applications for some executive positions were open, and Deema said I would be a good fit for Vice President. Of course, I was super nervous, as I was just a freshman with no leadership experience, but I applied anyway. I remember being so nervous for my interview that I probably just rambled on and on, but clearly it worked, and I was selected to be Vice President!
Vice President (fall 2022-Spring 2023)
As Vice President, I was in charge of making newsletters and keeping track of attendance. I also really wanted to have our first ever formal, so I helped plan that, and started our HC sister program. I became a lot more confident in speaking in front of people, delegating tasks, and making content that weren’t just articles. I also started making a lot more friends within Her Campus, and I especially got closer to the people on exec that year. I’m so grateful to the people who I worked with that year because I wouldn’t have been able to develop into the leader I am today without their help.
I also knew I just wanted to do HC for the rest of my college career. I remember when I got a concussion the day of the last meeting and I still went directly from the hospital to the meeting just so I could say goodbye to all of the seniors and announce that I was going to be president!
That summer, we went to NYC for Her Conference, which was such a fun experience. I was so excited to meet chapter leaders from other schools and get advice from women on their leadership styles. Now that Deema had graduated, it was time to step into the role of being president.
Presidency (Spring 2023-Present)
I wish I could say I started my presidency off right, but it probably took me 6-7 meetings for me to even be a real person. Her Campus was growing larger and larger by the semester, which was unfortunate for me, because my very first meeting as president was also our largest yet, with over 100 people attending. I was so proud of myself and our social media team for reaching out to so many people, but I was also so nervous.
I’ve always been bad at giving advice and being in authority, so for me to suddenly have to help others and tell people what to do was a huge leap for me. I’m not perfect at it, but without Her Campus I wouldn’t have been able to advocate for myself or feel comfortable in what I say. It was surreal seeing me go from a girl no one talked to in high school to being the person that numerous girls on campus say hi to.
One thing I wanted to implement in Her Campus KU, that I hope stays, is service and giving back to the community. I’ve been actively volunteering since I was in middle school, and I wanted to make sure we were helping out other women as well. In the fall of 2023, we collabed with Hearts for the Homeless (H4H) KU and KU American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) to create a raffle and fundraise for the Willow Domestic Violence Center and the Lawrence Community Shelter. We also hosted a period product drive, and posted Venmo bingo boards on our stories, which we repeated my senior year in March for Women’s History Month.
There’s so many words and stories I can tell about Her Campus, but that would take forever. Before college, and even now, I struggle with my femininity and feeling confident in who I am. This might surprise people, considering I wear pink 24/7, I love makeup, pop music, etc., but growing up in a predominantly white school as a woman of color (who also grew up pretty sheltered as well) made me extremely insecure about my features and the way I spoke and acted. I always thought I looked horrible standing in a room full of other girls, and that my personality just would never align with anyone “normal,” but HC has given me a newfound sense of confidence. I can walk into a room without having to stress out about what I look like, I can talk to people without having to replay the conversation over and over again trying to find flaws in what I said, I can feel comfortable putting my ideas out there without worrying about other people thinking I’m stupid.
I am a biology major looking to pursue medicine, and I was worried I would lose myself and my interests if I just focused on one subject in college, but Her Campus also inspired me to pursue a journalism minor. Without writing articles, I wouldn’t have been able to do that. Without joining exec, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable joining other exec boards for other clubs. Most importantly, without Her Campus KU, I wouldn’t have met my best friends and my favorite people in the world.
I don’t really know what I am immediately going to do next, but I know I will always want to work with women, for women. I hope I can hold on to what I’ve learned from my HC experience, and apply that to anything I do in the future.
ily hcku <3