Dear Her Campus community,
When we launched HerCampus.com to the world 15 years ago today — September 16, 2009 — as college women ourselves, we set out to create something that would amplify the voices of our peers and serve as a launching pad for the next generation of student journalists. Â
During undergrad, we had found ourselves leading Harvard’s women’s magazine, a student publication on campus, and had opted to transition it from print to online to take part in what we saw as a monumental shift in the media industry at the time. We never could have imagined that our student publication would explode across the country and across the world, thanks to the internet, and that in doing so, it would resonate so deeply with so many college women who saw in it a place where their interests were represented, but even more importantly, a platform where their voices could be both heard and amplified.
As we listened to college women who yearned to read and write for a publication like ours at their school, we envisioned a future where college women would have a media outlet written for them, by them, that would serve them with its content and lift them up and prepare them for their careers through their participation in it. That vision came to life when we launched Her Campus.
In the 15 years that have passed since then, so much has changed. Social platforms have risen and fallen, the words we use to talk about media — and what types of jobs even exist in the industry — have evolved many times over, and we’ve seen multiple generations pass through their college years. But what has stayed the same is the necessity of sharing your voice, of gaining the skills that will equip you to go after whatever your career aspirations are, and the undeniable power that comes from being surrounded by the community that will make it all possible.
Nothing is more fulfilling for us than seeing our vision manifest through the 15 years of Her Campus alums who have now ascended to unbelievable positions of leadership and influence all throughout the media, marketing, tech, and social impact spaces and beyond, as they used their Her Campus experience to catapult themselves into these incredible careers. It is our absolute privilege to have played a part in their journeys, and to see them now at the center of these industries’ continued evolution.
Her Campus has always been driven by its community, and we are so thankful to you for joining us in this. Happy 15 years to Her Campus, and we can’t wait to see the incredible things the HC community will make happen in the next 15!
HCXO,
Stephanie, Windsor & Annie