Interview with Student Ambassador and Member of Her Campus Staff Lydia Erakare

This Week I had the pleasure of speaking to Lydia Erakare, a Student Ambassador on our campus as well as a member of Kappa Delta Phi National Affiliated Sorority, and  writer for the SUNY New Paltz chapter of Her Campus. Lydia is very active on our campus and I was glad to get to speak to her about her experiences.

Q: Why did you choose SUNY New Paltz?

A: My journey to college was a long one full of both certainty and uncertainty. To make a long story short, I came to SUNY New Paltz because I loved the location of the campus, their School of Education was established, and there were many opportunities for leadership and growth on campus.   

Q: What is your major?

A: My major is early childhood/childhood education (birth – 6th grade) with a concentration in English. I take a full course load in both education and English.

Q: Why did you choose the major you did?

A: I have always loved children and find it easy to connect with them. For me, communicating and interacting with children comes naturally. My heart is fulfilled knowing that I have made at least one child feel special and loved.

Q: What is your dream job?

A: My dream job would be working for the Disney Corporation within an educational setting. This could be creating educational programming for their tv networks, implementing educational activities at their parks, or writing interactive and informative texts using Disney characters.  

Q: What made you choose Greek Life?

A: I chose Greek Life because I loved the idea of having a group of supportive and influential women around me. In my first semester at college I felt alone and bored, Greek life was an opportunity to meet new people, make connections, and get involved in both the campus and town communities.

Q: How do you like Greek Life on our campus?

A: I have grown to love it over the years. At first, I found it difficult to reach out to other organizations but now I have built bonds with many Greeks on campus.  Greek life only makes up a 3% population on our campus which means there are very few of us. Because of this, we are a very close knit community.

 Q: What is your favorite thing about New Paltz?

A: My favorite thing about New Paltz is the location. We are surrounded by beautiful mountains, wildlife, and small towns with boutiques and restaurants. If I want something more fast-paced and exciting, I can easily take a day trip into New York City and enjoy a show or go to a museum. We have the best of both worlds.  

Q: What’s it like to be a Student Ambassador?

A: Being a student ambassador is work but also a lot of fun! Everyone on staff becomes your family. Not only do we give tours together and work campus events, we also hang out and support one another in our daily lives. I feel really blessed to have had the opportunity to work professionally at SUNY New Paltz and network with my fellow ambassadors and the admissions staff.  

Q: What made you join Her Campus?

A: I chose to be an English concentration because I love to read and write. However, I never actually let others read my writing. I thought Her Campus would be a perfect way to start pushing myself to write more and share my voice with others.

Q: Any advice for newcomers to our campus?

A: GET INVOLVED. The best thing you can do as a college student is take every opportunity and run with it. Make friends, go on adventures, join a club, and just have fun.

As you can tell Lydia is very involved on our campus and suggests that we all make the most of our time here at SUNY New Paltz! She’s a friendly face around campus, don’t be afraid to wave if you see her!!

• campus leader
• greek life
• her campus
• Leader
• new paltz