Erika L Buhk – Graduates December 2022
Pronouns: she/her
Majors: Human Biology, Statistics, Psychology, and Neuroscience (pre-med track)
Minor: Bioethics
Hometown: Jenison, MI
Zodiac Sign: Taurus
Instagram: @ebuhk
Member of HerCampus since Spring 2020
Erika Buhk is a junior at MSU, quadruple majoring in Human Biology, Statistics, Psychology, and Neuroscience on the pre-med track. She joined HerCampus in the spring of 2020 shortly after COVID began. Since then, she has joined the internship program while continuing to be a staff writer.
When asked why she joined HerCampus, Erika stated, “I have always loved writing and I find that I feel better about a lot of things in my life when I write just because I want to. With the schedule, I keep I don’t have tons of time to write, and being a part of Her Campus forces me to make time for it at least once a month.” She has learned a lot from this experience, especially that she can make an impact with “just” her words.
Outside of HerCampus, she is the president of Dive Club. At The Listening Ear, Erika is the Center Coordinator, which she loves because she is passionate about mental health. She states, “… [Mental health] is something that is becoming more widespread, but we still don’t prioritize it the way we should, and being able to volunteer as a crisis counselor I get to help serve those struggling in my community in their most vulnerable moments.” She is also a member of Pre American Medical Students Association, Pre Students of Osteopathic Medicine Association, and Cru. She also loves to volunteer. In what little free time she has, she loves “…to hang out with my friends, listen to music, write, [and] random spontaneous adventures.”
East Lansing is home to many amazing restaurants and bars, and Erika loves “the feel of the college town but also being close enough to off-campus stuff that I don’t feel trapped.” Some of her favorite memories have come from running a dive club where they will sit under heat lamps and talk about everything. She states, “…it’s so nice to have those conversations with like-minded people and to understand those around me better.”
As an extremely motivated individual, Erika plans to go to medical school starting in the Fall of 2023. After the many years of school ahead of her, she isn’t sure what specialty she will end up in, but she is interested in Women’s Health, Trauma, and Orthopedic Surgery.
The biggest change Erika has noticed in herself since freshman year, is she is more confident to try new things. “Why not try it? I’d rather live with some embarrassing stories than with regrets of not trying something [new].” She gives similar advice to incoming and current freshmen. “Don’t be afraid to try something new. It’s scary to get out of your comfort zone, but it’s a big school; if you make a total fool of yourself, no one you are ever going to see again is going to remember. So, just try it!”
All and all, Erika lives by the quote “Be afraid and do it anyway” which is seen in her favorite book series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The main character of the series, Katniss Everdeen, famously takes her sister’s place in a competition that pits children against one another to the death. Erika states, “Every time I read it (or re-watch the movies), I catch something new. They have a complexity that is overlooked and the way Suzanne Collins depicts the mental health of the characters is fascinating to me.”