Late last Friday evening I was lucky enough to get to meet with Laura Rodriguez, a HerCampus member from the University of Puerto Rico. From 1,676 miles away we were able to call each other through Zoom. Right away she had a kind smile for me and was excited to jump right into the questions. Laura is a 21-year-old senior double major in business and marketing and works for a marketing agency. Just on the cusp of a huge change, Laura is focused on “graduating, getting [her] MBA, and going to a good university for grad school.” The University of Puerto Rico’s classes is hybrid this semester. However, Laura has recently had to go completely online after riots over funding at the University shut down the campus. Despite these setbacks, Laura’s hardworking spirit hasn’t left her and she continues her commitment to the school as well as to her HerCampus chapter.
Laura’s HerCampus chapter is split up into separate committees that each focus on different jobs. Laura herself is on the events committee and coordinates fun ways for her chapter to spend time together. Over the past year, they haven’t been able to meet in person, but Laura and her team haven’t let that stop them. They’ve held movie nights, scavenger hunts, and even more distanced events. Laura loves HerCampus because “you get to meet a lot of new people”, and loves the diversity, people, and opportunities the club provides. “I love fashion and beauty,” Laura said, “I think it’s funny what people express”.
Despite living so far apart in very different places (Massachusetts and San Juan), Laura and I live quite similar lives. The University of Puerto Rico is much bigger than Lasell, students still want to have fun. But at both universities, Thursday is the day to go out. Here at Lasell, students typically go into Boston on the weekends for events. In San Juan, students stay on one street, Rio St., known for its bars and clubs. Laura and I enjoy a lot of the same things and were able to bond over our mutual love for The Devil Wears Prada. She also recently visited Miami, the birthplace of her favorite musician Pitbull. She loves fashion and beauty which are prominent in Puerto Rico and feels like “a kid on Christmas” when she gets to work in that field. Laura also has an adorable puppy, who she loves dearly.
It was so great to get to talk with Laura. She was so kind and really emphasized that despite space, the values of HerCampus span to each member.