Name: Katianna Tron
Class: 2016
Major: English Major, Psychology Minor
Hometown: Camarillo, California
What’s your favorite thing about the college? The people here are so genuinely passionate about the things they do, whether that be their field of study, their clubs on campus, or just being good friends, everyone is so driven toward the things that matter most. That’s a kind of unique passion you don’t find just anywhere.
What are you involved in on campus? I’m a member of Tri Delta, and I had the incredible opportunity to serve as the Vice President of Public Relations for the chapter for the past year. I have a job with the Office of University Relations which means I get to write stories for the official WM news website. I serve on the Outreach Team for the Senior Class Gift Committee, and I am on the PR team for the Bone Marrow Drive. Oh, and I’m currently ~Chapter President~ of Her Campus WM.
What’s your favorite thing about Her Campus? I am always amazed by the creativity of some of Her Campus’s members. Girls will come to me with these article ideas that I honestly could not ever have imagined, and I’m always like, “Ya, that’s brilliant! Do that!”
How did you get involved in all of these awesome organizations? Each has a bit of a different story. Rushing Tri Delta was something I wanted to do to integrate myself as a Transfer student, but getting the leadership positions took comitment to being involved and being a leader even before I held a position. I knew I wanted to work for the College as a good way to have a trial run at the real world, so I searched WM job listings until I found the perfect job that fit my skills. For Senior Class Gift Committee and the Bone Marrow Drive, I had friends recommmend I at least apply or consider joining, and I am a big fan of the saying, “Don’t knock it until you try it,” so I checked them out and liked the opportunity to help such good causes.
If you had to give advice to someone wanting to be as media-savvy or journalistic as you, what would you tell them? When I realized I enjoyed PR and thought it seemed like a viable option career-wise, I got involved with as many things as possible. I started to be active social-media wise for Tri Delta, and really pushed myself to expand the position. Shortly thereafter, I joined the PR team for the Bone Marrow Drive to get more experience. For Summer internships, I applied for anything and everything related to PR, Marketing, Social Media, Writing, to get any sort of experience I could. I ended up working two internships at once, one with a Branding agency, and one with a Newsaper. Both fine tuned my skills and taught me how to better use them. Also, if you want to learn, you have to ask questions and try things out! You’ll never improve if you never take risks.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned here at W&M? There are so many things I’ve learned at the College. But I can probably narrow it down to a couple things.
One, if you really think you are interested in a certain field, get as involved as possible as an undergrad. Talk to alumni in that field to hear how it has panned out for them, take on positions for experience; this is your time to do a trial run and see if it’s really the right fit for you.
And two, life is so valuable, don’t take it for granted. Love those around you and remember to love yourself, we only have four years on this campus and who knows how many years afterwards; take each moment as the incredible gift it is and just cherish it. You could be crying with a friend at 2 in the morning and still appreciate that you have that friend there for you, or you could be taking a stroll through CW and appreciate the adorable dogs and colonial people; there is always something to appreciate. This life is a good life, enjoy it.