18 months ago, I finally made the decision to join my school’s Her Campus Chapter. After being overambitious and wanting to join every club on campus, my heart led me to this club. I was hesitant at first; I didn’t want to feel left out or intimidated and yet ironically enough, the clubs I joined instead of Her Campus made me feel that way. I had made no friends, felt so alone and needed to find my community to bloom into this new person I was becoming. So, I found my way back to the club I knew I wanted to join all along. The girls were so welcoming and fostered such a strong and growing sense of authentic sisterhood here on campus.
Months later, I would grow to love these girls on such a close and personal level as they would take a chance on a freshman like me as one of their Social Media Co-Directors. Through joining the E-Board so early on, I met some of the best women at this school who would become such important people in my life. It taught me that even if you start out slow, you will always find your people. I also grew a sense of aspiration and ambition for this club and all that it could be. I knew how much becoming a part of this club changed my entire college experience for the better. Whether that was through expressing myself through writing, building confidence in my social media skills or building key relationships with other women on campus, I wanted this club to do that for so many more.
When I joined the club, I wouldn’t have ever guessed that in less than a year I would be blessed to become the Chapter’s President, yet I was, and I am so grateful I was. What a privilege it has been. Being President was so much more than I could’ve ever imagined, both in good and bad ways. To be able and have the trust in me to pass the torch down was such a big accomplishment in itself. There was a lot of pressure on me to do well, at least from myself. The previous president, now a dear friend of mine, led this chapter with such resilience and dedication that I only wanted to live up to her. But I took this chapter to a whole new level and it took a lot of work.
Knowing how the E-Board worked last year compared to now, I really ran this club like the Navy but it paid off so well. Ending my freshman year, our chapter had around 60 members. This year, we are ending with roughly 160 members. This is not a flex or a moment to gloat, it is simply a testament to how much our hard work has paid off. We were able to start hosting events on a weekly basis, get article numbers up and work with so many brands, organizations, people, as well as grow our visibility. Most importantly, we welcomed so many new women into our chapter with open arms and tried our best to create a welcoming community for women on campus.
Although our chapter definitely had its rough moments, when everything felt like it was falling apart and it was my job to save it, or when everything felt like it was solely my job to run this club and our responsibilities, things overall were great for us and for me. Sure, I had moments where I got really stressed and overwhelmed from my role in this club, but seeing how much people loved it made it worth it. Also, learning new boundaries and responsibilities grew me into a much more stronger and wiser leader and individual. Making new memories, new accomplishments and especially new friends made every bad moment become a figment of my imagination and not a concern. I am so grateful for those who stepped in when they did, reassured me I was doing a good job and stood by me and understood during tough times.
Whether this club brought me stress or distracted me from it, I always knew I could look forward to this club to make any bad situation feel better because of the people in it. Ending the year, signing out as president has been bittersweet. I’m saying goodbye to a role I have taken such pride in, physically saying goodbye to the people who made such an important part of my life right now and leaving everything I have built these past two years can seem very sad. And it is, when you look at it that way. But I try to think of the flip sides. I have built this chapter up to be such a dominant and well-known organization on and off campus that I can leave it comfortable and confident that they will do well without me.
I have worked with an amazing slate of women in this E-Board that I know with my whole heart they will continue to thrive. I leave knowing I made my mark the best way I knew how and that my initial goal of creating a community of sisterhood for women on campus was complete. I reached my goals and soared so much farther than I could’ve ever imagined. I leave praying that, although I will be physically away, I can still feel that sense of community and love that I did when I joined 18 months ago. I leave fully trusting the incoming president and all the women behind her to carry on what we started. So, although I am leaving knowing this chaotic year is over, I leave knowing I will miss it so much and I leave proud to have done it.
I wouldn’t change anything about how this year went or how my presidency ran its course and just so beyond grateful to have experienced this role and experience as a whole. I hope that all those who follow grow the same sense of love and pride in running such an amazing organization as I did and so grateful that 18-year-old me took a chance on a club she was once too scared to join. With all that being said, it has been an honor to serve as the President of the St. John’s University Her Campus Chapter for the 2025-2026 school year and thank everyone for believing I could excel in this role. It has been amazing, and for that, all good things must come to an end. Your President is officially signing out!