Allie Bausinger is a senior at Penn State University, and our CC for Her Campus at PSU! With a major in Digital and Print Journalism and a minor in English, she dreams of one day moving to Washington DC to start a career as a writer, reporter, or editor. Allie’s love for this field pushes her to succeed, and she’s made great strides here at Penn State.
Career
When I inquired about her favorite part of this career path, she told me that she loves writing stories that people don’t often hear: “I get to take stories that are not as much in the limelight and tell them, which has been one of the most rewarding parts.” Her experience at Penn State has given her a plethora of resources, connections (both professional and social), and knowledge to help further her success within the Communications field. She finds this university to have the benefits and tools for success of a large school, with the feel of a small, tight-knit community; that balance allowed this to be the perfect place for her to spend these past 4 years.
Extracurriculars
Along with taking classes and furthering her vocational goals, Allie has enjoyed participating and flourishing in extracurriculars. During her time with Her Campus, she has held the positions of Secretary, Twitter Chair, and Campus Correspondent, in which she leads and directs weekly meetings, represents Penn State’s Her Campus chapter, and communicates with the magazine’s Nationals team. In addition to Her Campus, Allie is tour guide for Penn State Lion Scouts–a position she has held for 4 years. She not only facilitates tours and holds a position on the executive board as Conference Chair and Outreach Director, but she also works as an intern at the Admissions Office. She has found this job to be one of her favorite experiences from her time here, and is even staying in State College after graduation to work on projects with them as well.
Allie’s favorite parts about her extracurriculars mainly center around the people she’s been able to meet; she elaborated that Her Campus has provided her the opportunity to work with so many amazing individuals, as well as reading and writing stories alongside them. Lion Scouts gave her a sense of purpose in helping others who were indecisive about Penn State just like she was as a high schooler. She says that “I get to show them you don’t have to be a cookie-cutter person who goes to Penn State in order to fit in here.” In some ways, Penn State has a reputation that can be misleading, but being a tour guide allows Allie to show prospective students the whole truth behind opportunities, experiences, and community at this school. She also notes that she’s met some of her best friends and favorite people from these organizations.
Saying Goodbye to PSU
While Allie’s 4 years as an undergraduate are coming to a close, the memories and relationships she’s formed will stay with her for a lifetime. She poignantly reminisced on the very first tour she gave, saying that it was probably the worst one she’s ever given, but began a chapter of her life that is unforgettable. Her best friends have made her time here so valuable, from making memories on their crazy college adventures, to ordering a pizza to the library at 2 a.m. Overall, Allie said some of the biggest things she’ll miss are those small, simple memories that you can only experience at college: being as weird as you want without judgment, making tacos in the middle of the night just for fun, staying up late, and being encouraged to be a little reckless once in a while.
While she wouldn’t change much about her time here, she did note that she wished she had been more outgoing as a Freshman, and really taken in all of the opportunities that Penn State has to offer. If she had to give advice to any incoming Freshman, Allie remarked, “do not be afraid to put yourself out there in the weirdest situations, it could end up changing who you are as a person.” With that, she also added the caveat to never take a class at 8 or 9 a.m!
Allie–Thank you for being an asset to this community; Penn State will miss you just as much as you will miss us. You have made positive impacts on so many lives, and your passion for the things you do is inspiring to us all. From your Her Campus family, and from a friend, it’s been a pleasure to be a Penn Stater alongside you. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Congratulations to a soon-to-be Pennsylvania State University graduate!