I’m Sherlyn Assam, a journalism major, political science minor, and Senior Editor at Her Campus Carleton. When I ran as a candidate for the position, I had one news byline on Carleton’s website. After working with my editing team all year, I have written way more for Her Campus, and have expanded the types of writing I submitted – from features, to photo stories, profiles, and opinion pieces.
I mention this because I see the same patterns in our writers. From first-time contributors to returning writers; Journalism and English majors, to biology and political science students; Canadian citizens and immigrants, Her Campus Carleton publishes a variety of articles from a wide range of backgrounds. This is the beauty of a publication like Her Campus. It gives writers the chance to exercise their creativity and take the bold step of sharing their work.
As senior editor, I got to see all the articles submitted to us, work out pitches with writers, and assign stories to eager contributors. Reading emails from excited writers, giving suggestions, and even meeting with a few writers to create another great piece for Her Campus made my year. It reminded me how exciting it is for a writer to go through the publication process and see their name on a website, attached to work they are proud of. What’s more, it reminded me why having a dedicated editing team is important.
I’m a very Type A person, so colour-coded schedules, organizing Google Docs, and checking group chats every day was my beloved way of keeping track of Her Campus Carleton’s content with my editing team. Working with them was such a joy because we could see what we were all working on, chat about our favourite articles, and plan for the next weeks ahead of us. Looking back on Her Campus now, I am reminded of stories I was excited to edit, stories I knew nothing about, but learned a lot from, and even some I was nervous to read.
Seeing it all before me reminded me of everything we accomplished. I say we because Her Campus Carleton is not only our Campus Correspondent, our editors, or even our writers. It is everyone who engages with the publication, from readership to event attendees, and our social media followers. Carleton is our campus. It influenced what we wrote, who we published, and where we met as Her Campus. I am proud of the Carleton chapter and am excited to see what we can all bring to Her Campus next year.