It takes determination – and a pinch of luck – to reach one’s goals and turn new ideas into reality. Junior public relations major Ashley Young of Hurricane, W.Va. knows all about it.
“After hours of searching for internships online, I came across an outdated internship posting from Her Campus,” Young said. “I was upset when I realized it was old, but I visited their site, instantly fell in love, and found that their next chapter deadline was in three days. I set my sights high. It was time to move!”
The application process to start a chapter was grueling, and one that Young did not take lightly. After first using her initiative to apply, she was later invited to fill out an extensive second part of the application that included pitching story ideas, writing those stories and editing sample texts.
“Not long after, I got an email saying that I’d been chosen to start my own chapter at Wesleyan,” Young said. “I honestly cried right there in the classroom! From there, I recruited writers and worked with the Her Campus headquarters to get everything ready for our big launch in January.”
Her Campus is an online magazine geared towards collegiate women, something that drew Young to the online community in the first place.
“It gives a voice to college women.” Young said. “It’s a shared point of interest where girls of all majors can come together, read interesting, current material, and strike up conversation. Her Campus brings people together in an exciting new way that Wesleyan hasn’t yet experienced.”
Starting an entirely new media outlet at a school is a huge undertaking that requires a lot of work from its founding member and editor-in-chief. Young explains that her drive to succeed in the magazine and journalism industry began early in her life.
“I’ve had an interest in the magazine industry since middle school,” she said. “I used to spread all my magazines out in the floor of my bedroom and look at the outfits, read the features, try the makeup ideas, everything. As for writing, it’s always been second nature to me. I was accepted into Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism as an incoming freshman, which is apparently unheard of. In all honesty, though, Wesleyan’s charm won me over in the end, and it’s exactly where I should be!”
At Wesleyan, Young is chaplain of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, a Resident Assistant in Holloway Hall, Editor-in-Chief of the Pharos, and she’s also involved in the honors program and several academic honoraries. With such big ambitions throughout her time in college, it comes as no surprise that her post-collegiate goals are just as large. She hopes to be chosen this summer for an editorial internship in New York City.
Through it all, Young remains humble and levelheaded about her opportunities.
“God has a beautiful way of opening and closing doors,” she said. “I’ve learned to take life a step at a time because, in the end, everything always works out for the best.”
It is with that attitude and determination that she launched Wesleyan’s chapter of Her Campus. It is with her guidance and leadership that it has flourished into the great resource for our collegiate women that it is today.