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Our Event was a Success!

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter.

Bursts of holiday music filled the air as more than 300 students flocked to the ARC on Wednesday night to the first annual “Take a Holiday with Her Campus” event.

Sponsored by Her Campus and The Illini Public Relations Associations, the wellness event was a great way to take a break before the rush of final exams. The first 50 guests at the event received a free goody bag filled with the latest issue of IMPULSE magazine and items from a variety of businesses, including Victoria’s Secret, EatCU, Camp Gladiator, and discount cards from Rent the Runway.

Throughout the night, guests enjoyed free hair services courtesy of Rod Sickler Salon and Spa and free makeup tutorials and applications by Morgan Byrne Cosmetics. In addition, Rent the Runway at Illinois encouraged girls to sign up for their website to receive a free discount card for their next rental. EatCU provided guests with health and nutrition tips, and guests were also treated to a student documentary preview from Gina Chinino and Caroline Pahl, two seniors in Media. Stella & Dot jewelry was on hand to display the latest trends in jewelry, and even had guests buying early holiday gifts for friends and family.

Aside from the services, several raffles took place throughout the evening. Guests purchased raffle tickets for $1 at the event, to bid on items such as Chicago Cubs tickets, Illinois men’s basketball tickets, free parties at Cly’s or Firehaus, gift certificates to local businesses and a plethora of others.

Highlights of the event included a Rent the Runway fashion show, in which 17 undergraduate women modeled off holiday-themed designer dresses from the fashion retail site, plus performances by 3 Spot Dance Troupe, Illini Dance Team and The Other Guys.

The event raised more than $1,900 for the Northwestern Settlement to buy Christmas presents for children in the Champaign-Urbana area. It was a huge success, and a great way to have fun before the semester comes to an end. 

Emily Cleary is a 22-year-old news-editorial journalism major hoping to work in the fashion industry, whether that be in editorial, marketing, PR or event planning is TBD. With internships at Teen Vogue and StyleChicago.com, it's clear that she is a fashion fanatic. When she's not studying (she's the former VP of her sorority, Delta Delta Delta), writing for various publications or attending meetings for clubs like Business Careers in Entertainment Club, Society of Professional Journalists, The Business of Fashion Club, or for her role as the Assistant Editor of the Arts & Entertainment section of her school's magazine, she's doing something else; you will never find her sitting still. She loves: running (you know those crazy cross-country runners...), attending concerts and music festivals, shopping (of course), hanging out with friends, visiting her family at home, traveling (she studied abroad in London when she was able to travel all over Europe), taking pictures, tweeting, reading stacks and stacks of magazines and newspapers while drinking a Starbuck's caramel light frappacino, blogs and the occasional blogging, eating anything chocolate and conjuring up her next big project. Living just 20 minutes outside of Chicago, she's excited to live there after graduation, but would love to spend some time in New York, LA, London or Paris (she speaks French)!