Once upon a time, in the year 2017, I was an incoming freshman at Winona State. Without any real friends at the time, I timidly scurried through all the tables at the fall club fair. That is, until I fatefully stumbled across Kasey and Emily, the 2017-18 Campus Correspondents, at the Her Campus table.
Immediately drawn in by pops of pink and an effervescence that was similar to all my favorite magazines, I knew I wanted to join.
Under Kasey and Emily’s tutelage, I learned the ins and outs of the website, the club itself and how tight-knit the HC community was at WSU. Sadly after my first year of being a staff member, they graduated and moved on to bigger and better things. But that didn’t stop me from carrying everything I learned from them with me through the next few semesters.
Flash forward two years to present time where I’m in the same role as K & E were when I first met them. So now, it’s my turn to profile them on what they’ve been up to, their time with HC at Winona and advice from CCs past to present.
HC: Let’s go back to the good ‘ol times, shall we? How many years were you in Her Campus and what were the roles you occupied?
KL: I was in Her Campus as a staff writer all four years at Winona. I was the Treasurer my junior year and Co-Campus Correspondent my senior year.
ES: I was in it just for my junior and senior years. During my senior year, I was Co-Campus Correspondent with Kasey.
Her Campus (HC): So, I haven’t seen either of you since before you graduated—tear, tear—in the spring of 2018. What kinds of things have you been tackling in the real world since then?
Kasey Lanenberg (KL): Since graduating, I’ve kind of been up to a lot. I traveled to Washington, D.C., and Arizona a couple times, I hang out with friends as often as I can, I’ve been coaching volleyball at Kokoro for two seasons, and, probably the most exciting thing is in December 2018, I was hired at 10 Missions Media (shout out!)—a small publication company in St. Paul—as their Marketing Communications Specialist! So I’ve definitely been staying busy.
Emily Sheptoski (ES): I graduated without a job lined up, so I began serving in a restaurant back home while job hunting. I then got a part-time internship as a social media assistant for a start-up. I gained some good experience that summer, and it helped me get a full-time job as a Social Media Specialist. I am working at a global outsourcing company on a major beauty account. I hope to grow into a leadership role so I can continue to help promote my brand’s voice and role in the market. In addition to work, I’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of quality time with my family, move in with one of my best friends and recently check a few places off my travel bucket list.
HC: Wow! You’ve both accomplished a lot. Would you say that any of these things have, in part, been accomplished because of skills you gained from being in Her Campus? How has being in HC helped you since graduation?
KL: For the first part, Her Campus definitely taught me how to be a leader. But also that if I have an idea about a story, or now a campaign, that it’s not stupid and is probably something new that no one has thought about doing before. And for the second part: yes, definitely! I like to think that my article examples and the roles I held in Her Campus helped me stand out during interviews. It was a really good talking point, and my articles were great ways to showcase my writing skills.
ES: Her Campus taught me to be a better leader and helped me grow my writing skills. It’s helped me step into new roles in my career, and I’m sure it will continue to do so. I mostly write in my day-to-day tasks at work, so the skills I gained have been an asset to that. I’ve also continued my hobby of creative writing, which has grown from Her Campus.
HC: Being a Campus Correspondent, as all three of us know, is a ton of work. However, there’s a lot of good parts. What was your favorite part of being a CC?
KL: Seeing our members come out of their shell and write articles that were sometimes very raw and personal. It was really rewarding knowing that they were comfortable enough to write about those events and share them with the public. Also, while it might be a little obvious, leading a great group of writers was another great part.
ES: I liked to help come up with article topics, but my favorite things were to plan meetings and see all the amazing members grow in their confidence and writing skills.
HC: I know this next one may feel impossible to answer because, not to brag, but all our articles are awesome in different ways. Do you have an article that you would consider to be a favorite?
KL: My top three are: “Cheers to 25 Years: A Reflection of Her Time at Winona State,” which was a feature on one of my favorite professors in the mass communication department, Professor Cindy Killion; “Margarita Madness,” an article dedicated to National Margarita Day; and “Think F-A-S-T: Knowing a Stroke When You See One.”
ES: It’s really hard to just pick one, but I can narrow it down. It would probably have to be “Why I Won’t Apologize for Being Nerdy” or “Seven Ways Disney Channel Failed Me.” The latter was shared by National Her Campus, which was pretty cool.
HC: Because I’m asking you both to relive the glory days, you must be doing some strolls down memory lane. What do you miss most about Her Campus?
KL: I miss the weekly meetings and hearing about everyone’s weekends or how boring their classes were that day. Even though everyone’s year in school ranged, we were close-knit and genuine friends with everyone, which made it easy to be sincerely interested in how things were going with each other.
ES: I miss the team bonding most because it was also so much fun. And of course, I miss writing articles. I will randomly get an idea and wish I could write a Her Campus article on it.
HC: Last question: Do you have any general advice or words of wisdom for those who are currently in Her Campus or who will join in the future?
KL: For my advice, my two biggest pieces would be this: (1) Write about whatever topics interest you because more often than not, it will also be of interest to someone else, and no idea is stupid; (2) Apply for a leadership position if you haven’t already! They’re really good resume boosters, and it gives you a chance to lead and interact with Nationals and other club leaders! And finally, as a word to the current CCs, I’d say “Keep killing it!” I love seeing all the articles and how Her Campus is still attracting members and growing as a club.
ES: I say write as many articles as you can and let your imagination run wild. There’s no limit to what or how many articles you can write. Get creative about your topics and ideas and dig deep. It’s really easy to get writer’s block, but don’t get discouraged. Also, don’t forget to live in the moment because, as I’m sure you’ve heard a thousand times… time really does fly.
It’s no secret that Her Campus has had a huge part of my heart since joining three years ago. And that, in large part, is due to these incredible role models who introduced me to this organization. From the bottom of my heart, I want to give a big HCXO to Kasey and Emily for all their guidance and support and also a thank-you for sharing how HC at Winona has helped them in life after college!