This week’s Campus Celebrity is none-other than our very own chapter founder, President, and Editor-in-Chief, Lara von Linsowe-Wilson. As we wrap up our first year of the Oregon State chapter, who better to feature than our very own founder? Without Lara, we would not be able to do the things we are doing at Oregon State through Her Campus. Give a big shout-out to Lara this week for all that she has done!
Name: Lara von Linsowe-Wilson
Hometown: Beaverton, OR
Major/Minor: New Media Communications, Minors in Writing & Spanish
Year: Junior
HC at Oregon State: How did you find out about Her Campus?
Lara: I have a friend who works for the Her Campus chapter at the University of Oregon, so I always saw her articles pop up on Facebook.
HC at Oregon State: What made you decide to start a chapter here at Oregon State?
Lara: After seeing the cool things my friend was doing with Her Campus in Eugene, I was sad when I saw that Oregon State didn’t have a chapter. I first thought about creating one during my sophomore year, but I was hesitant at first because I didn’t know how much work it would be to get a chapter going. Eventually I just gave in and decided to apply during the summer between my sophomore and junior years, and now here we are!
HC at Oregon State: Tell us about the process of getting this chapter up and running. Were there any road bumps? Any victories?
Lara: At first it was just about reaching out to students and seeing if there would be any interest at all in starting a chapter. I had to have a list of names for potential writers upon applying, so I began reaching out to media and writing students. I knew that if I were interested in having a writing outlet like Her Campus, others would be too. Eventually the word started getting out, and we were able to get up and running with a very solid staff for our first year of activity.
HC at Oregon State: What do you hope to see this next year for Her Campus at Oregon State?
Lara: Next year I just really want to increase our presence on campus even further, both by holding more events and by recruiting an even larger staff that will help take our chapter to the next level. I’ve already started planning lots of fun things to implement next year, so stay tuned!
HC at Oregon State: What is your favorite memory from the Her Campus’s first year at Oregon State?
Lara: So many amazing things happened for us this year, from becoming a ranked chapter during our first year of activity to winning first place for our Campus Celebrity feature on Kathy Greaves. My favorite memory of all though would have to be working with Cosmopolitan Magazine for their Voting is Sexy campaign – I always dream of working for them one day, so it was like a dream when they reached out to us and sent us tons of goodies for us to hand out on campus!
HC at Oregon State:Are there any other ways you are involved on campus?
Lara: In addition to being the Editor-in-Chief & President for Her Campus at Oregon State, I am also a captain for the Oregon State Color Guard team that performs with the marching band. I am also a member of the OSU Elite Dance Team, and I also work several jobs on- and off-campus in addition to being a fashion blogger.
HC at Oregon State: How do you balance all of your commitments? Do you have any advice for those who are also very ambitious?
Lara: I’m just one of those people who enjoys keeping busy! The main thing that keeps me grounded is having a planner, because it feels so great being able to write down all of my commitments in one place and then crossing them off as I go. I also think it’s important that you do things that make you happy while keeping an eye on the future.
HC at Oregon State: Who should get involved with Her Campus at Oregon State? How can students sign up?
Lara: I would highly encourage anyone who is interested to contact me! We are looking for anyone who is interested in writing, social media, marketing, photography, event planning, and many other related fields for this upcoming fall. If anyone is interested, they can email me at laravlw@hercampus.com for more information.
Make sure to go and check out Lara’s fashion blog and social media sites! If you see her on campus, give her big thumbs up for all that she does.