To wrap up another successful semester, Her Campus SFU invites you to join us for Her Story on April 28, 2022! Inspired by the Ted Talks series, Her Story will dedicate an evening to some remarkable women who would love to share their tales of resilience and strength in hopes of empowering other university or college women. To give a preview of two of our six panellists, we were lucky enough to interview Tegan Acres, a Freelance Writer & Environmental Communicator, and Alicia Cheung, Content & Social Media Manager at Rangle.io and Staff Writer & Social Features Writer at Cold Tea Collective.
When asking Tegan about something (a project, a recognition, or a hardship) that’s defined her career/life so far, she proudly mentions inaugurating her blog called Climate Hope Project in the fall of 2019, “which was the beginning of my writing career and communication journey in the environmental space.” It appears that experience was necessary for pushing Tegan out of her comfort zone because it helped her meet new people, develop some much needed skills and become overall more confident with her identity as a writer, kick-starting her career today.
Alicia responded to the same question by mentioning the hardships during her academic career because for her, “The one hardship… [was] dropping out of my undergrad program after my first year. I was in a co-op program hoping to major in Psychology, but after not meeting the minimum average requirements, I was forced to switch.” Transitioning fields was a necessary stepping stone for fostering her passions about society, everyday interactions, and the effects on social relationships. Her challenges have led her to obtain a Master’s degree in Communications and Marketing.
In regards to inspiration for the two women, Tegan was most inspired by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth -a marine biologist and expert communicator especially considering she is the co-founder to many labs such as the non-profit think tank Urban Ocean Lab, and co-creator of the podcast How to Save a Planet. Other inspirations for Tegan include Alice Aedy, Naomi Klein, Leah Thomas and Gloria Steinem who are inspirational climate and feminist communicators and leaders. Alicia feels the most inspired by Natasha (@natashajung), Founder, Executive Editor & Executive Producer at Cold Tea Collective. Alicia specifically mentions how “she really does it all – she’s a community builder, a marketer, a public speaker, AND a mom,…[and Alicia] really looks up to her drive and motivation to make things happen.” Other women that Alicia finds herself supporting are AsianBossGirl (@asianbossgirl), Philip Wang (@wongfuphil), Cathy Park Hong (@cathyparkhong), Domee Shi (@domeeshi), and Awkwafina (@awkwafina).
A piece of advice that Tegan would give her younger self would be “to hold tightly to the ideas and work that make her light up inside and don’t let any person or society make her feel like she can’t pursue those passions. I would also tell her to let go of any pressure she feels to have it all figured out and take the time to explore any opportunity that excites her.” Whereas Tegan focused on the importance of embracing her journey, Alicia’s advice would be“to be proud of who you are and to be patient. Be proud of your culture, your heritage, your identity, and your uniqueness. Nobody else can write your experiences for you, but you can choose who you surround yourself with… stay curious and stay passionate, you will get there.”
Finally, we asked the two panellists how they would describe their story in a nutshell. While Tegan responded, “Become a storyteller,” Alicia replied with “Wow, I did that.”
To hear more from these two remarkable women and our other panellists, remember to sign-up for Her Story! Since this is a free event, everyone is welcome to join. Eventbrite registration is now open and is required for non-general members.