Our Campus Celebrity for this week is our Head Editor for Her Campus Illinois, Christina Oehler. She’s a sophomore in news-editorial journalism and is involved in a variety of other on and off campus writing and editing positions, including working as a staff writer for the Daily Illini and as an intern for alum Alina Dizik and her website, napeatrepeat.com. We sat down with Christina this week to learn more about her experiences as well as her advice to other young journalists.
Her Campus: How did you first become interested in journalism?
Christina Oehler: I have always liked to write, and I have always taken an interest in keeping up with current events and learning about the world of politics. It wasn’t until I earned an internship at a local magazine during my senior year of high school that I realized how much I loved writing. It helped me find a confident voice I never realized I had inside me, and so I continued to take on any opportunity that would allow me to further pursue this interest.
HC: What activities are you involved in, and how do you time manage all of your work?
CO: I am currently the Head Editor of the Her Campus Illinois chapter, where I manage all content published onto the site and work with staff members to improve article content. Beside my involvement with Her Campus, I intern for a website called napeatrepeat.com, where I work on different writing and editing tasks. I am a staff writer for the Daily Illini and a campus-based blog called uloop.com. I am also involved in a few other organizations, including my sorority, as well as a group called the Chicago Journalists Association, where I am an associate board member.
HC: What has been your experience working as a freelance writing intern?
CO: Because my work as an intern for napeatrepeat.com is strictly online and freelance, I have learned that this is a style of journalism I would love to work with eventually. I am required to spend about five hours each week working on a variety of writing, editing and publicity tasks, but all of which are on my own schedule. It is so convenient, because I can plan to work on these tasks when I’m not swamped with other exams or papers.
HC: What are your career goals and how have these activities helped you begin to achieve them?
CO: I eventually hope to find a career where I can work as traveling reporter that focuses on investigative journalism and international political work. I know that it is kind of a long shot dream, especially with the current state of the economy and journalism’s constantly changing platform, but I think that like any other career, it is part of the work. All of these activities have built on each other and have given me a wide range of experiences that I have learned a variety of skills from.
HC: What inspires your work?
CO: I am really driven by the fact that I eventually want to become someone who can deliver unbiased, informative and truthful news that will give readers the ability to make informed decisions about the world around them. I think that so much of journalism today is politically tainted, and I want to be someone who works to supply the public with equal and factual information to eventually better our nation and world.
HC: What advice do you have to other collegiettes pursuing similar career paths?
CO: My biggest advice is to be persistent. In journalism, you completely rely on your sources and if they fall through, you need to be quick on your feet to get your story in on time. I think most journalism students can agree that is the most aggravating part of this job, but it pays off when you finally see your byline in a publication.
Photos courtesy of Christina Oehler