During my first year of undergrad, after trying to learn the hang of my hard science classes and electives, I was eager to join clubs. Although I missed Clubs Fest at the school and knew less about the clubs that I could get involved with, I began my quest to find clubs to join. I visited the UWSA hub for student clubs and asked students. Through this, I learned about Her Campus. I emailed the campus correspondent, after which I received a questionnaire to fill out. Then things were set in stone – I was set to be a writer the following semester. After struggling and having had adverse experiences in AP English, in high school, with a teacher who was racist, I was nervous to write. Being a science major, I was also not accustomed to writing anything other than lab reports, so I knew the semester would come with its own challenges.
The new school year was nothing like what I had feared. I was met with a system of support with the other Her Campus team members, which included other writers, editors who helped polish my writing, and even social media team members – in terms of what topics would be more suitable for social media that week. These topics included issues about a recent social movement like #MeToo or writing about student life. When I was unsure if my tone was appropriate I could also count on other members to tell me ways to modify my writing to better fit a particular audience. The extensive time that editors spent polishing my weekly writings further helped me improve my syntax, grammar, and tone. This was one of my concerns when I started at Her Campus since I wanted to learn ways to improve my portrayal of ideas and be open to receive suggestions on exactly how to improve.
As a writer I was also worried about being able to write weekly, meeting the required word limit, and ensuring that I was not late with submissions. During my first semester, I was extremely nervous about this, however, I found that when I did miss the Friday writing submission, due to an exam or other commitments, I was allowed an extra hour or two to submit my piece. Plus, you don’t have to write weekly and can always choose to write bi-weekly! All these benefits of being a writer motivated me to continue writing for Her Campus for three years and I would like to encourage all eager writers/editors to join our chapter. Besides gaining valuable communication skills that can translate to any career, you will be able to network with other UWindsor students who share similar interests, along with writing/editing other people’s work. These individuals come from an array of backgrounds and can continue to uplift you and offer you valuable insight into your writing. Join our Her Campus family today!