Our own Nathalie Sturgeon is this week’s Campus Celebrity! Nathalie has quickly become one of the top contributors to Her Campus STU since joining us in January. This amazing girl is majoring in journalism because she loves storytelling.
When she was a kid she used to watch the evening news with her parents. She would see people like Steve Murphy and Harry Forestell on TV.
“I saw what they were doing and for me it clicked. I was like I want to do that,” says Nathalie.
She first began exploring her passion in high school. Nathalie started out small by writing for the local newspaper as well as some local reporting. She took a break from university for a little while, but she’s ready and pumped to keep going.
“I’m glad I’m back on the fast track to journalism.”
Back in 2013, Nathalie started her own photography company called No Name Photographer. She says the business has been a process. So far, the Facebook page for her business has 86 likes, but it’s still beginning to pique the interest of people in the community.
Nathalie says she’s not the most experienced photographer, but she loves photography and she feels her dedication and passion brings a personal touch to her business.
“I love capturing a million emotions in a single frame.”
So, does this writer have a famous quote to live by?
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on,” from Robert Frost. Nathalie lives by this quote because she has been through a lot, yet here she is. She says that no matter what knocks you down in life, you have to get up and keep going.
“There is no time to stop and worry about what happened yesterday, you have to move forward to tomorrow.”
Nathalie says that in her life, her aunt Teresa inspires her. Although she is no longer here, Nathalie still thinks about the battle she had to face. Nathalie says her aunt was a tough woman, and whenever she hits an obstacle, she just thinks about what her aunt went through and then things get put into perspective for her.
“It makes you grateful for the opportunities that I have been given and I can only hope that she is proud of the work I have accomplished thus far.”
Nathalie’s biggest obstacle in her life has been mental illness. Although it’s a touchy subject for her, she was able to share that she suffers from two very hard and crippling disorders; borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder.
“It’s tragic for me to know that so many people suffer like I do.”
Sometimes, the hardest thing for Nathalie could be getting out of bed. But for her, she brushes it aside as best as she can, grabs a cup of coffee, puts on her best smile, and keeps going because “life doesn’t stop because you can’t get out of bed.”
Nathalie advises for any beginning or potential journalism students to develop a thick skin, ASAP! She says that you will always find at least one person who won’t agree with you. There will also be people who don’t think you are good at what you do, or that your work isn’t “up to their standards.”
“Just remember that we all start somewhere, it’s really where you end up that counts.”