Last year in the early spring of 2017, I read one of the emails that Her Campus sent out regarding their Her Conference event in mid-summer. As I browsed the keynote speakers, attendee testimonials, and various photos from the conference the year prior, I was intrigued and decided to go all-in by purchasing a ticket for the weekend-long event. As the semester came to a close and summer rolled around, I had no luck in corralling any close friends from home to go with me, and many of my chapter’s members were busy traveling or working for the summer. I assumed that many of them also wanted to take a break to enjoy summer vacation without putting a thought to “networking,” or going to an event that would emphasize the looming challenge of landing an internship for the next summer. However, I decided to go ahead on my own and I booked a train ticket from Boston to New York City, packed my weekender with comfortable shoes and the only two blazers I owned, and went on my merry way.
Thankfully, at the time, one of my older sisters was working and living in the Big Apple, so I was able to crash at her place and didn’t have to figure out a hotel or an Airbnb. Upon getting to the city, I was sweaty, overwhelmed, and wondered how anyone survived the sweltering summer months taking the train to and from work. Despite my despise of the crowded and dirty street corners, I was excited and curious about what the weekend held.
I think that my experience was as great as it was because I went into it with an open mind, and being alone, I was forced to face the fact that I didn’t know a single soul in the event space. Being the outgoing and talkative girl that I am, I put myself out there and mingled with many other like-minded girls—from complimenting someone on their outfit choice or starting up conversation with the person next to me while in the career panels, I made an effort to connect with others and it paid off. In addition, the event itself was well worth the price of admission. Not only did they have free glow-ups from Ulta Beauty staff, but there were countless gifts and giveaways prizes from all of the awesome partnerships that Her Campus maintains with various brands. Lunch, snacks, and bottomless Spindrift were provided, so needless to say, I was a happy gal. More importantly, however, there were so many *amazing* women who came to present at the event, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see them speak in person otherwise if I had not attended Her Conference.
Two speakers that presented at the weekend’s event who stuck out to me most include Lisa Sugar, Founder and CEO of POPSUGAR (what I consider to be a version of Her Campus for adult women), and Bobbi Rebell, a New-York based Financial Expert. Both of these women discussed how they got to where they are today, their advice to collegiate women, and many personal anecdotes as well. What I loved about both of them was that they each were warm, friendly, willing to share their success secrets, and seemed genuinely happy with their careers (both mentioned how they love what they do so much, that they don’t feel like it’s “work” most of the time, which I think everyone wants to achieve at some point). Both of these women were also generous enough to hand out free copies of their books, which I tore through on my train ride home. If you are interested, you can also find them here and here.
Power Your Happy by Lisa Sugar
How to Be a Financial Grownup by Bobbi Rebell:
All in all, I couldn’t recommend Her Conference enough and I hope to participate in Summer 2018. If you are planning on or considering going, just remember to have fun, listen up and take notes, put yourself out there, and as with anything, make the best of it! HCXO. If you would like to purchase a ticket for Her Conference 2018, check out the website here.