This love letter is the last article I will write for Her Campus Rutgers. I want to share my incredible journey with this publication and inspire others to participate in it. Through everything that college brings, Her Campus changed my life for the better. I am more than grateful to have been a part of this organization and am excited to see how far it goes in the future.
I joined Her Campus Rutgers during my junior year. Truth be told, I wanted to participate during my transfer semester sophomore spring but was too nervous about going to a club meeting. I regret not becoming involved in Her Campus sooner, and I knew I loved to write and needed a creative outlet.
I joined Her Campus during my junior year when we were online. Although we met on zoom, I still was able to find a community within the Her Campus meetings. Everyone was very welcoming and kind from the beginning. I felt motivated to write articles and loved doing it. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support I was given from those around me. Despite the virtual platform, everyone could talk, and some events occurred over zoom. My favorite was the Halloween hocus-pocus viewing. We all gathered together and watched it over zoom.
In the spring of my junior year, I became the Assistant Editor. I wanted to be more involved in Her Campus and learn more about the publishing process. I was trained in editing and soon began working as the assistant editor. This experience allowed me to get to know general members and executive board better. The executive board consisted of the editorial team, campus correspondents and social media team. The e-board, in my experience, was bonded like a family. We all supported each other and looked out for each other. When the job of an editor got overwhelming, the senior editor was supportive and helped me manage the workload. We all worked together, and Her Campus Rutgers was a well-oiled machine.
At the end of my junior year, I decided to apply to be the senior editor of Her Campus Rutgers and was appointed. I was lucky enough to get a fantastic assistant editor to work with who I was able to bond quickly. Over the summer, she and I decided to do a book club together to bond and examine different writing styles to gain some inspiration for articles in the new year. The book we read was called “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert. This book taught us how to channel more creativity into our daily lives. It also inspired a joint article about our experience reading this book. We both began the fall 21 semester positively with the new knowledge we had. Even though we only had time to read one book in our book club, it helped us to bond as a team. We were both reading the same book simultaneously, and reading was the best part of both our days.
The beginning of the fall semester became overwhelming as my workload was hefty. I was lucky enough to have an e-board that cared about me and helped me by finding a second assistant editor. Both assistant editors work extremely hard and are lovely creative people. Together as a team, we worked to produce articles and encourage members to write for Her Campus. Luckily, we got a good number of interested members to write articles.
Other than the creative outlets and incredible writing/editing experiences Her Campus has given me, I additionally had the pleasure of collaborating with our events coordinator to throw two fun and empowering events. I was involved with another women’s organization on Campus, which required two events a semester and encouraged collaboration.
Our first event was called “JARts and Crafts,” in which we painted mason jars in fall designs. Many members from both organizations came out for this, and everyone had a great time. I remember bonding with other members over a mutual love for Taylor Swift and Taylor’s version of Red. Our second event was a vision board creation night for International Women’s Day. I was able to relax and share common interests and goals with other members. Events were one of my Her Campus experiences as they were a fun way to bond with other members and relax.
I cannot speak enough of how much Her Campus has improved my college experience. I am in love with this publication and am heartbroken that my time in the organization is ending. I am looking forward to attending Her Conference this summer and continuing my support for the organization as an alumna. Her Campus should be a part of every college woman’s experience, and it will always stick with me wherever I go.