Meet Francesca Vasta, a junior communications major with concentrations in journalism and advertising and a minor in photography. She comes to Marist from Mahopac, New York. At the beginning of the fall semester, Francesca created our Her Campus at Marist Instagram and has continued to improve the account with her daily inspirational quotes, travel photographs and food snapshots. Recently, we had the chance to learn more about the girl behind the amazing instas.
Francesca shares that she first learned about Her Campus while she was studying abroad in Florence with our Co-campus Correspondent Anna Carbone. “She had so many great things to say about Her Campus, and its strong mission statement of encouraging women to be their best selves on college campuses,” she says. Soon after joining Marist’s group of Her Campus writers, Francesca volunteered to foster the Chapter’s Instagram account.
Now, Francesca is responsible for posting multiple times a week on Instagram in order to promote Her Campus at Marist articles and the mission of the organization. “I was so excited about working on the Her Campus Marist Instagram page that I showed my mom the page and she was delighted to see what I had been working on. Her reaction was really rewarding.”
She shares that a lot of her inspiration for the posts come from Pinterest and that she tries to match her posts to certain days of the week and times of year that collegiettes can relate to, such as finals week. Her favorite part of her job was when she created a costume contest for Halloween on the account. “It was so neat to see people participating, and to check out such unique and creative costume ideas! It’s great to see people around campus getting involved with Her Campus, and I hope that next Halloween even more people post for the contest,” Francesca explains.
“I also become inspired by my own life,” she says, “when I’m stressed at school, or if something is on my mind, I try to find a quote that lifts my own spirits. Even when I’m feeling down, I still try to create a positive energy through our Instagram account in the hopes that if others are feeling upset, my post will make them smile too!” Francesca shares that she feels particularly rewarded with her friends tell her that they connected with a certain post. She is happy to brighten the days of others at Marist.
However, Francesca’s biggest challenge regarding her Instagram responsibilities is remembering to post daily. “I try to post every morning when I’m eating breakfast so I don’t forget. Also, I think by posting around the same time every morning, our followers can see it when they’re just waking up and getting ready for the day. I like to send a note of inspiration to all the collegiettes out there, so they feel happy and positive about starting their day,” she explains.
Beyond her involvement with Her Campus, Francesca is a choreographer and member of Marist College Dance Ensemble and a student worker in the School of Professional Programs. She is looking forward to getting back into dance this semester because “it’s such a nice outlet to have at school, and I’m super excited to be choreographing again.” When she isn’t dancing, you can find her at a coffee shop with a good book or her journal. Francesca says, “I love exploring new cafes and trying new flavors of coffee. To me, going to a coffee shop is an experience. Between the smell of freshly brewed coffee, the sound of soft music and hearing old friends laugh and catch up, I become inspired.”
Thank you for all that you do for Her Campus at Marist, Francesca, our Chapter is lucky to have you on board. Check out Francesca’s daily posts by following @hercampusmarist on Instagram.