Meet our member of the week: Jessica Schuler! Jessica has been a member of Her Campus since her freshman year. She loves having the creative outlet that Her Campus provides and her favorite articles to write tend to be a little more fun as it’s a nice contradiction to the constant essays her majors demand of her. Find out more about how she came to join and what she plans to do next!
Hometown: Annandale, VA
Major: English and Philosophy with a concentration in Law
Year: Senior
What made you choose VCU?
When I was a senior in high school, I remember that the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to go to a city school. I get bored really easily, and I remember the day I came back to VCU for accepted students day and walking around seeing so many different things going on, whether it was a flea market in the Commons Plaza or a Quidditch match in Monroe Park, and I realized that VCU was a campus that would never be boring. I loved being surrounded by so many different people from arts students doing their AFO projects in front of the library, to activists to business majors. VCU’s just an incredible melting pot of thousands of personalities and cultures that honestly just really excited me to be a part of.
What else are you involved in on campus?
I really like to keep myself busy so outside of Her Campus I hold the position of VP Standards in the Rho Beta chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi, and I’m also the Fundraising Chair for RamTHON which is a charity dance marathon at VCU that raises money for the Children’s Hospital of Richmond. I am also involved in SALT, English Honor Society and I’ve been a Rowdy Ram since freshman year. VCU just has an environment that makes you want to get involved!
Why did you join Her Campus?
My second semester freshman year, I was looking for ways to be more involved on campus and I knew I wanted to do something with writing since that’s been a passion of mine since I was old enough to hold a pen. One of my sorority sisters was on the PR team and filled me in on everything. It wasn’t long before I realized how badly I wanted to be a part of this organization so I applied, I got in and I’ve been a member ever since!
What’s your dream job?
Oh god, I know that as a senior I should know this, but it’s still changing a lot, whether it be a lawyer, specializing in sexual assault cases, or a writer (I don’t think I have the discipline) or even an actress in classical theater (I’m a Shakespeare nut); as of right now the track I’m looking at is law, maybe becoming a judge someday and then retiring to own a flower shop where I sell bouquets based on the Victorian language of flowers.
What’s your favorite thing to do in Richmond?
I think just exploring. The architecture is beautiful so when the weather’s nice I like going on walks around the city, looking at the old buildings, then I usually end up at the VMFA for a little bit.
What do you do in your free time?
I have a pretty short attention span so my free time activities are a bit eclectic. I enjoy playing soccer and then also painting. I’ve started learning how to embroider, then I’m also a pretty big movie buff and I’m currently watching about 10 different shows on Netflix.
What’s your favorite article you’ve written?
I think that’s definitely going to be Our Music Legends are Dying, and We Have No One to Fill Their Shoes. It was something that I had been turning over in my head for years, it had a lot to do with expectations we have of the music industry, and it was on a topic that meant a lot to me at the time. This was the first time I was finally able to express what I had been feeling in words, and I was proud of that.
What advice do you have for VCU freshmen?
It REALLY DOES go by SO fast, and you’re gonna miss it so much, so get involved, VCU has a million opportunities for you to connect not only with the VCU community but also with the Richmond community so take advantage of that. Go to the basketball games, go to the festivals, study abroad if you can, try things you think you might hate or you may not be good at and take classes that have absolutely nothing to do with your major because this really is the only time that you can do that. College should be full of experiences and moments you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Make friends who you have nothing in common with because those are the ones who are going to push you outside of your comfort zone. So yeah, it’s only four years, so take advantage.