Thanksgiving is almost here, and what a better and unique way to celebrate the holiday than by meeting someone new from miles and miles away? On November the 18th, two Her Campus members sat down for a Zoom video call and met each other: Claire Reiser, a Her Campus at Holy Cross writer and Claudia Colón, one of Her Campus at UPR’s chapter leaders. And the outcome? Totally amazing! They got to learn about another chapter, another town, and another lifestyle other than their own. But one thing was for sure and it stuck to them: Her Campus members are awesome, regardless of where they come from. So, here’s a bit of our experience and what we learned from meeting another lovely Her Campus gal.
Meet Claire Reiser
Claire Reiser is from Worcester, Massachusetts. When they’re not hitting the libraries or chilling at local coffee shops, Northeast US students go on spontaneous and fun retreats, and Claire is one of them. Being a Holy Cross alumni has given her the opportunity of being part of a close-knit community in which she has majored in English. Claire is a kind sophomore who spends her leisure time hanging out with her friends, jamming to The Weekend, and baking yummy pastries! She is loyal, organized, and hardworkingーjust a few of her amazing qualities that she adds to Her Campus at Holy Cross.
Our Her Campus Experience
Claire and I knew about Her Campus in similar ways: through the means of friends. Both of us had a few friends who were HC writers who filled us in on everything there was to know about their respective chapters. Claire is a new member; or, how we like to call it in HC at UPR, a Her Campus baby. She joined the team in August 2021, whereas I became a member of the girl gang back in January 2018, four years ago! So, the contrast in regards to activism time in the chapter was definitely interesting. Claire is currently a writer who mostly enjoys crafting things about lifestyle and about what’s vibing in her university, especially if it has to do with fashion. Other than being a writer, she aspires to someday become a part of the social media or editing team.
Favorite Her Campus Memory
Even though Claire is a Her Campus newbie, she absolutely loved the time their chapter visited a local coffee shop to hang out and brainstorm ideas for those who were experiencing writer’s block. She felt in that simple gathering a sense of sisterhood and belonging. Getting together to bond with her members is her favorite thing about Her Campus so far, and I second it. Bonding events are the best!
What I Learned From Her
Claire took me back to that first semester when I joined my chapter. I started out as a writer, like her, and like every other HC member, of course. Just thinking about the whole journey that is ahead of her in comparison with all that I have experienced so far left me in total awe. It made me nostalgic for sure. Also, she mentioned two things that she and her chapter do that I will definitely be jotting it down to do soon, and that is: Claire likes to write about what’s going on in her campus, a topic that I have barely written about and now I’m eager to do. On the other hand, I found it really interesting how Her Campus at Holy Cross keeps in touch with graduated HC alumni and regularly invites them to gatherings to talk about the work force and how Her Campus has influenced them on job-landing opportunities and more.
Her Campus Is Empowerment
Overall, we walked away feeling like our girl gang had grown. Her Campus gave us a chance to meet and get to know one another, despite the thousands of miles between us. We realized that this is what Her Campus is all about: lifting each other up and empowering other women no matter how far away we are from each other. We bonded over shared Her Campus experiences, but also over our identities as young, independent women in college.