Her Campus Penn State’s Campus Correspondent: Kelsey Lester

Two years ago, Her Campus Penn State was not a very recognized publication around State College. With a staff of only five writers and very little publicity around campus, our website views were at a constant low. When Kelsey Lester took over as campus correspondent, her constant hard-work and unyielding dedication brought forth incredible strides forward in the success of HCPSU. The staff has grown to 17 writers and site traffic numbers have increased to more than five times their previous figures, a number that is constantly increasing. Today, as Kelsey stands one week away from graduating college and handing over her position as editor in chief, we sit down with her to talk about her experiences as Campus Correspondent of HCPSU and what she hopes for its future.
 
HC: What will you miss the most about being campus correspondent?
Kelsey: I’m going to miss the freedom to write about anything that inspires me and the excitement from my writers to do the same.
 
HC: What do you hope for the future of HCPSU?
Kelsey: I hope that HC PSU continues to grow. Through the growing popularity of our website, I hope that writers keep applying, so the writing staff keeps growing. Also, I am really hopeful that next year the website will far exceed the highest amount of views we received this year.
 
HC: Are you sad to hand over your position as campus correspondent?
Kelsey: I’m incredibly sad. So much of my time the past two years has been dedicated to writing, editing and uploading articles for HC PSU. I often joke that this website is like my baby and handing it over to someone else definitely hasn’t been easy, but I know that I’m leaving it in completely capable hands.
 
HC: What advice would you give to the girls succeeding you as campus correspondent?
Kelsey: Enjoy it, because it truly is a great experience.
 
HC: What have you learned from being campus correspondent?
Kelsey: I’ve learned time management is a developed skill that alleviates stress. Before I accepted the campus correspondent position I found it all too easy to procrastinate doing an assignment. However over the past two years I have realized the necessity of getting work done ahead of time, because I had to balance school and HC PSU, along with internships.
 
HC: Why should Penn State students join the HCPSU team?
Kelsey: Students, both women and men, should join HC PSU because it’s an amazing way to get your work recognized on a national stage. Often times on Google our articles are in the top three search results. It’s exciting knowing that not only do people have access to your articles by going to the website, but also that your articles have the potential to reach people who are not aware of HC PSU.  Also, by constantly writing it’s easy to develop skills and learn what it takes to work for an online publication.
 
HC: How would you sum up your four years at Penn State?
Kelsey: An amazing learning experience, both in my education and in my personal life.

We’ll miss you Kelsey. Thanks for doing such a great job.