When looking at the history of Her Campus here at MSU, even during Women’s History Month, we can’t truly acknowledge our chapter, our accomplishments, and how far we’ve come in the past few years without recognizing the amazing women who paved the way and helped to better us as writers, as leaders, and as women.
Taylor Manley is part one in a series highlighting our previous campus correspondents – who previously served as our Chapter Presidents and Editor in Chiefs (EICs) – to share their experiences and how it helped to shape them in their post-graduation endeavors.
Taylor Manley – MSU Class of 2019
Major: Social Relations and Policy
Minor: Women’s and Gender Studies
Current City: Ann Arbor, MI
Zodiac sign: Scorpio Sun, Capricorn Moon, Cancer Rising
Position within HCMSU: Campus Correspondent and Editor in Chief
Instagram: @taym27
Since graduating from MSU, Taylor has been working remotely as a digital strategist for a non-profit organization based in D.C. However, she hopes to one day go back to school and study library sciences.
When asked about her experience in Her Campus, Manley shared, “Her Campus taught me a lot about collaboration and realistic goal-setting. I’ve found those lessons [to be] extremely useful when working with a variety of different people, balancing objectives, and creating timelines that are reasonable and achievable.”
HCMSU actually played a role in helping Taylor land her current job. “My position at HCMSU actually stuck out on my resume to the HR Department so I guess I’d say it helped me land an incredible role at an amazing organization!” Manley shared. “I’m also grateful for the experience I’ve had with different types of writing, since composing articles versus academic papers is a pretty different experience. It’s useful to have that type of well-rounded background once you’re out of school.”
When she’s not working or writing, Taylor enjoys reading, painting her nails, practicing yoga, and cooking. She has recently taken up hiking and also tries to spend as much time with her friends as she can, given the pandemic of course.
Some of her book recommendations would include: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry, and Entitled by Kate Manne.
“Right now, though, I would really recommend reading literally anything and everything by Octavia Butler, especially Kindred and The Parable of the Sower,” Taylor recommended. “She’s a genius.”
To wrap up, Manley shared that she lives by the quote from Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” “I like this one because it reminds me to take myself out of survival mode. It’s been a hard couple of years, and I’m trying to do better at giving myself grace and kindness and to say yes to things that bring me joy instead of wondering how I’ll find the time.”
And for those thinking of joining a Her Campus chapter, “DO IT! If you’re worried about the time commitment, don’t be. Her Campus gives you a lot of latitude to write about anything you want and there’s always an amazing network to support you as needed. I met a lot of wonderful people through Her Campus. It’s so, so worth it.”