From left to right: Exiting CC Jessica Norton, incoming CC Joelle Bellini, incoming CC Sara Capucilli, and exiting CC Paige Gawley.
On May 26th our current CCs, Paige Gawley and Jessica Norton, will be graduating Marymount and leaving MMM’s Her Campus chapter to two rising juniors, Sara Capucilli and Joelle Bellini. In order for Paige and Jess to say goodbye to the chapter they built, and in order Sara and Joelle to introduce themselves to the Her Campus family, we’ve put together a four part interview series in which an exiting CC interviews an incoming one and vice versa. Jess already got the chance to interview Joelle and now it’s Joelle’s turn to speak to Jess about her feelings surrounding graduation and her experience working with Her Campus.
Joelle Bellini: What was your highest high during your time as a CC?
Jessica Norton: I was so proud when Her Campus MMM achieved pink level chapter status. Our chapter had only been around for a year and we really didn’t have that many members. It was completely unexpected but incredibly awesome.
JB: Lowest low?
JN: During my time as CC we were unable to get support from the school. Not being able to get our chapter approved as a club on campus was extremely frustrating because we weren’t allowed to organize and schedule meetings, hang posters, or receive funding.
JB: With so many of the HC MMM contributors graduating, how do you think it will do next year?
JN: We have been so lucky to have such a great group of contributors the past two years. Seeing what the underclassmen have pitched to us in the past, I am positive that the chapter will do amazing things. Everyone sends in such different and exciting ideas, it never gets boring.
JB: What opportunities has being a HC CC offered you?
JN: Being a Her Campus CC has allowed me to meet so many like-minded people. I am a writer for MTV News and when I was in the office one day I met one of the interns and I found out that she was a CC for her university’s chapter. Also, crazy story, I was on the subway and a girl spotted my Her Campus keychain and came up to me to talk about how she wrote for her school’s chapter when she was in college. I’ve made very cool, and sometimes random, connections.
JB: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
JN: I am going to The New School to get my masters in Media Management, so I see that taking up a good amount of my next five years, haha! I am currently a pop writer for MTV News and AwesomenessTV. I also run my own production company called Camera By Her Side. Career-wise I would love to continue working in entertainment news, whether it is interviewing celebrities on camera, going on tour with a band as their photographer, or curating social media content. I see myself working all over the place.
JB: Do you think being a part of HC has helped Camera By Her Side?
JN: Being a part of Her Campus has definitely helped Camera By Her Side. I actually got involved with Her Campus when I was a senior in high school when I did Her Campus’ High School Ambassador program. I was also doing Camera By Her Side at the same time, as I have been for the past six years. It helped me develop useful time management skills and creative ideas.
JB: What was the biggest thing you’ve had to overcome as a CC?
JN: Learning how to balance being a full-time student, running a Her Campus chapter, and having an internship/part time job was not an easy feat. I am a very organized and I don’t do things at last minute, so my time management skills are pretty good. But even so, I often found myself stressing when life got crazy. Sometimes you get a ton of things thrown at you and it can be super overwhelming.
JB: What important skills has being a CC taught you?
JN: Obviously the biggest skill to me is time management. But it also taught me to be more open minded, organized, and helped me be digitally savvy. I am more skilled in digital content creation, such as social media, photography, and video, but being a Her Campus CC has allowed me to gain experience in editing, organizing editorial calendars, and leadership.
JB: Do you have any regrets, or things you wish you would have done better as a CC?
JN: I would’ve loved to have done more group outings and field trips. Marymount students are very career-focused and tend to be extremely independent and one of the main reasons I wanted to start a Her Campus chapter was to build some community. Looking back I wish we could’ve have met up more.
JB: What is the number one piece of advice you could share with Joelle and Sara?
JN: Think ahead. Schedule things way in advance, if possible. You’ll be thankful later. For example, over winter break I would write articles relating to Spring Break. Thinking about ideas for evergreen articles (fun listicles or snapshot posts) helps!