Over the weekend of June 23, I had the absolute pleasure of hosting three of my friends and fellow Her Campus FSU members in my hometown so we could attend Her Conference. Her Conference is a networking and career-building event held once a year for Her Campus chapter members, influencers, and leaders from across the country. There are fun activities, social media content creation opportunities, brand sponsorships, and influential female speakers. Attending is an amazing way to network and meet other women with similar interests and professional goals as you!
This year’s conference was held at The Atrium in Brooklyn, New York, less than an hour from my house. HCFSU’s NYC weekend began a day before the conference. Bella Bozied and Kate Fernandez flew in from Florida, and Grace Martin drove up from West Virginia. I got to show them around my hometown and take them to my favorite restaurant, Art CafĂ©, located in Nyack, NY. We then headed home, prepared our outfits, and went to sleep. We had a long day ahead of us!
The Morning Of
We woke up at 6:15 a.m. and started getting ready. We knew that we had to bring our A-game in terms of makeup and outfits. I think we all know that Her Campus girls NEVER disappoint. We survived the drive over the George Washington Bridge and made it to Brooklyn unscathed. After a few mishaps in the parking journey, we found a garage just 10 minutes from the venue.
the Venue Setup
We arrived just in time for our 9 a.m. check-in and were immediately amazed at the setup. Beautiful pastel flowers, brightly colored walls, fun neon signs, and a full-length mirror made for so many photo ops! Adobe even provided us with a digital photo booth with a ton of creative templates! The Living Proof hair bar and LancĂ´me makeup touch-up stations were filled with fun products for conference attendees to use and samples to take home. We took some professional headshots at the headshot station after touching up our hair and makeup, checked out the venue, met some amazing girls, and went downstairs to listen to the first panel and keynote speaker.
the Speakers
There were six speaker sessions separated by 30-minute breaks. These sessions featured keynote speakers, panelists, and special guests. We got to hear from so many influential women that were willing to share their stories, insights, successes, hardships, and advice. One of my favorite parts of the entire day was getting to talk to psychotherapist and energy healer Ebony Robinson about manifestation, meditation, and mental wellness after she spoke during the Mind Maintenance panel along with Emily Ocon and Sarah Gaines.
the Free Stuff!
Of course, the Her Conference experience would’ve been amazing even without all the free samples and food we were provided, but it definitely was a plus! There were snacks and drinks from brands such as Pop & Bottle, Undercover Snacks, Boxed Water, Bobo’s Oat Bars, Tony’s Chocolonely, RIND snacks, YOU NEED THIS, Magnum Ice Cream, and Sunwink in every corner of the venue. We were also provided with delicious lunches that we ate on the rooftop with some of our new friends.
We collected free samples from the sample table outside that was stocked with products from brands such as Vince Camuto, Living Proof, LancĂ´me, Sol de Janeiro and more! Some other fun things that were offered include screen-printed shirts from XOXO, face glitter from Joydust, and a super cute makeup bag and sticker sheet from Plan B. My personal favorite was the Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum cream. It smells so good and is so moisturizing! To top it all off, we also received stylish tote bags so we could carry all our new stuff home.
Networking
The best part of Her Conference for me was getting to meet amazing women from Her Campus chapters all over the country. We ran into some of our own alumni, talked to Her Campus Headquarters members, and other chapter members and leaders from different universities. Her Conference brought me into a network filled with inspiring women to befriend and share ideas with.
the Overall Experience
The conference was the main event of the weekend, but the day after, Bella, Kate, Grace, and I hopped on a train and explored NYC together. We tried some new restaurants, saw Chicago on Broadway, visited the Glossier store, navigated the subway, joined in on the Pride Parade that also coincided with the trip, and got some great content for social media. This weekend was jam-packed with fun activities and memories that I’m so thankful to have experienced with such amazing people!
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