In a time of uncertainty and mayhem last semester, I found my rock. Here a few thoughts as I take on this organization full of passionate, beautiful people.
- Dang, this is an amazing organization
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I first stumbled upon Her Campus my freshman year at Stout when they came into one of my classes to give a presentation. At the time I was very shy, didn’t really know where I was going in my life, didn’t want to dedicate myself to one organization and honestly, being in an all-female organization intimidated me—but yet the org was stuck in my head as I continued in my studies.
Last semester, three years after my initial introduction to Her Campus, my friend and I were having dinner in the Memorial Student Center when she said she had to leave to go to a meeting. As we walked to drop her off, she asked if I wanted to just go in with her, she told me it would be a perfect fit for me—as usual, she was right (thanks Hannah). While I would casually sit and observe when checking out other organizations, I was immediately enamored by Her Campus and within five minutes I was making suggestions, helping plan events, and had fully invested myself in the group. I immediately knew that these were my people, and I was in the right place. After the meeting, previous Campus Correspondent, Stephanie, and I talked about the future of the organization, and we concluded that it was in my hands after her graduation.
- They really just let me walk in and run this place, huh?
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While becoming Campus Correspondent of Her Campus with only a semester in the org isn’t uncommon, I was the future Campus Correspondent after an hour. A million thoughts were running through my head, and I won’t lie, I was unsure and quite frankly terrified at the time. I continued to go to meetings, experienced my first theme-week, wrote my first articles, helped collaborate with the incredibly helpful and hilarious organization of PONG, went through the stressful and grueling experience of transitioning to online-only classes, and got Discord notifications at 3am. I learned everything I could about Her Campus—because of this organization, I found my footing and confidence as a leader. The grace, support, determination, and positivity that radiates from the women of Her Campus-Stout has built a unique community on campus that empowers whoever walks through the door of a meeting or joins the Discord, in the case of our socially-distant futures.
- Yes, they really did just let me walk in and run the place—and I couldn’t be more grateful.
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I intend to give all that love, support, and positivity back to those who find Her Campus, even if the world is seemingly ending around us, and even if we can’t meet in person for now. We are all struggling as students right now; the uncertainty of the upcoming semesters is overwhelming sometimes. But knowing that at least once a week I can get together with my Her Campus crew and talk brings comfort.
- What the heck am I going to do now?
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UW-Stout is still mainly online this semester—anyone else have that *one* in-person class? Thanks for that, Stout. Her Campus is an online magazine and can easily transition to an online-only format; I can’t imagine the troubles other orgs on campus have been going through recently. As a smaller chapter, hosting and attending events is very important in the continuation of our organization on campus; the ongoing pandemic means Stout has rightfully minimalized these in order to preserve students’ safety and wellbeing. Our only option is to move forward, persevere, and do what we can to empower and support others, collaborate with organizations that need their voices to be heard, and give students a much-needed break from their daily troubles with articles that will make them forget about the world for a moment.
While the future of campus activities is unsure, I found my rock in Her Campus and I hope to extend that rock to others too—there’s plenty of room.