Name: Hermona Kuluberhan
Program and Year: Major in Political Science, Minor in Communications, Fifth Year
Hometown: Ottawa
Position: Writer and Editor of the Health team
Her Campus uOttawa: How do you like your program? Has it met your expectations?
Hermona Kuluberhan: University was a roller coaster and to be completely honest with you, the first couple of years, I was just there to be there. In and out was my plan; get my undergraduate degree. It wasn’t until the end of third year/beginning of fourth year where I realized that I liked being in university. Anyways, fourth year rolls around and the school starts sending those “apply to graduate” email notifications and I was just like “NAH, not me.” So I did a fifth year, which honestly was the best decision ever!
At the end of the day, I am glad that I studied Political Science because I honestly feel like I’ve learned a lot. It’s nice to be able to look at the craziness going on in the world and not feel overwhelmed and helpless, instead being able to be like “well that’s interesting because this is happening because of that.” I think the most important lessons I’ve learned over the course of the last five years is that I don’t know as much as I thought I knew (and I don’t know anywhere near as much as I wish I did) and that sometimes it’s best to just shut up and listen to others because you might learn something. Basically, the critical thinking/critical analysis skills that I’ve acquired may have come with a hefty price tag, but it’s been worth it.
HCuO: How do you like your position on the HCuO Team?
HK: Love it, love it, love it! I literally cannot stress how happy I am that I got involved with Her Campus. It was a bit of a fluke actually. I was on my way downtown for a job interview and I ran into a friend who told me she was applying for the marketing team, and I was interested. So, I put in my own application for the Health Team. I got a writer’s position, then second semester I became editor of the Health team. I love reading other writers’ pieces; every single one of the Health writers are brilliant and creative, and it really truly was fun reading their submissions. Even more than the position, it’s been great meeting and talking to people that I otherwise would not have met. HCuO is made up of a bunch of sweet, lovely, brilliant and able men and women, and I’m glad to have had the chance to be a part of it.
HCuO: What is your favourite article that you’ve written so far?
HK: This is a hard question becuase I don’t know if I can pick just one. I loved writing every piece, but the pieces that I loved the most were the ones where I interviewed some of my friends. I did two series, one on depression and the second one on abuse. Just being able to talk to my friends and them being so open and honest about what they’ve gone through was just a really cool thing to be a part of. Everyone whose path crosses yours has experienced something. Everyone has a story, and more people than you’d think are willing to talk about their lives in an open and frank manner; they’re just looking for the opportunity. No matter how large or small the platform, people want to have an opportunity to be like “well this is my story, this is how I felt, and this is what made me into the person that I am” and those were the pieces that I had the best time putting together.
HCuO: How do you keep yourself motivated? How do you manage your time?
HK: Motivation. It really depends on the situation. Sometimes you just have to remind yourself not to lose sight of your goal, other times it’s just a matter of getting it done and getting it over with. This fifth year required a lot of motivation. It was a mixture of remembering my goals and then just getting through it. Like I said, I’m glad I did it but man am I ever ready to be done with my undergrad! I just had to keep reminding myself, “you came back for a reason, stay focused, work hard, get those grades up and keep them up. It’s almost done.”
Time management. This is an easy one! It might seem like such an obvious answer but the calendar app on my Mac is literally what the order of my life rests upon. I’ll input everything into it: deadlines, dates with friends, work schedule, and other engagements; it helps me keep my time organized.
HCuO: What are three things that you cannot live without?
HK: Books. I might not be able to read as much as I would like to, but my favourite place in the world is the library plus there’s an Indigo a 30 minute walk away from where I live. Just being around books makes me happy. It’s impossible to read for fun during the semester. Between work, classes, assignments, assigned readings, and extracurriculars, you’re lucky if you get to sleep! But this summer I’m going to decompress and finally get around to reading the books I’ve been buying throughout the semester.
Cheap night at the theatres every Tuesday because I’m cheap and love movies.
My friends. At the end of the day, university is just university and we’re all super young and have our lives ahead of us, but you need to have people in your life who help you put all of that into perspective. I’ve been blessed with the women I have in my life. I’ve got the three I grew up with, two friends who I share a pretty wild group chat with, then the ladies from high school that I get together with a couple of times in the year. I would honestly lose my mind if I didn’t have these women in my life. I gotta say it again because it’s true, I’ve seriously been blessed with my friendships.
HCuO: What is on your bucket list for the summer?
HK: Funny that you ask, because I literally just finished putting the final touches on my summer ’17 to-do list! Top of my list is read more books and watch more movies that’ll actually teach me something, not just fluffy nonsense. Then, I want to travel and hit the gym more often.
HCuO: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
HK: When I try to envision what my life will look like 10 years down the road, I can’t say that I see myself in any one particular career. My 10 year plan is constantly changing and it’s not as concrete as I would like it to be, but I try not to panic about that. As obnoxious as this may sound, what I see for myself is more of a state of mind. I hope that 10 years from now I am at peace with myself, at peace with where I am at in my life and and at peace with the world around me. I hope I’m a little more confident and a lot less anxious. I just want to be content, happy and fulfilled with wherever I’m at, keep in touch with my girlfriends and maintain those friendships, and then travel a bit.
Sources: Pictures were provided by Hermona Kuluberhan.