This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.
On the evening of Sunday, March 31st in the Newman Library Multipurpose Room, Her Campus Virginia Tech hosted a watch party for the popular New York Times series, “Get With the Times”. This series is intended to bring powerful speakers in front of younger, college aged audiences in order to inspire them. Previous speakers include Bernie Sanders, Trevor Noah, and Samira Wiley. These events are hosted on actual college campuses and then live streamed online for watch party audiences.
Her Campus Virginia Tech was lucky enough to host a watch party for the Ashley Graham program. This included the model and body positive spokeswoman speaking about her career, advice for students, and how she got to where she is today. The event kicked off with free food and announcements for prizes up for grabs. Attendees were encouraged to take photos near the photo wall set up and to tag their photos for a prize drawing on social media as well. There was also a poster set up asking attendees to respond to “What I love about myself…” to further the conversation on self-love and positivity.
Many topics were covered during the livestream of the interview with Ashley Graham. From body positivity, to activism, to career advice, Ashley Graham explored it all. She spoke about how she doesn’t regret anything from her past since it brought her to where she is today and that she frequently used affirmations to reassure herself. When asked for advice for the audience, Graham talked about self-discipline and boundaries, and encouraged finding hobbies and practices that can better yourself, such as meditation and exercising.
At the end, a handful of students from colleges across the United States were invited to ask questions, shown from videos sent in and recorded live at the event. Many students asked about working within the fashion industry, privilege, and what she sees in her future. Graham responded gracefully, and although she was unsure of her five-year plan, she has aspirations and is working ahead on her next one-to-two years in her career. She told students to focus on your goals but to be real with yourself and go after what you really want.
The Her Campus Virginia Tech team included live coverage of the event and served free sandwiches, pizza, and drinks watch party attendees. Several giveaways at the end included New York Times branded-items, such as t-shirts, buttons, and more. Multiple beauty items were raffled off as well for a larger number of winners.
Her Campus Virginia Tech would like to thank our team and Her Campus for making this event possible in collaboration with the New York Times. Stay tuned for more information about other Her Campus hosted events coming up on campus!
Image Sources: Images courtesy of Sara Mathew (HCVT team)