I’ll be honest. This is not how I imagined my time as Co-President of Her Campus UNT would go. I always pictured sitting on my couch with the executive board eagerly planning out the semester. I imagined standing in front of all of your faces every other Tuesday as BB and I preside over meetings. I wanted to walk into the room before an event and see everyone talking and bonding with one another and witness firsthand all of you making your lifelong friends. When I sat in my living room one day in February of 2020 and told Scotlyn, our previous President, that I was interested in the position, I never could have fathomed that this is how this semester was going to go.
When I look back on the pre-pandemic times, I remember walking into my first ever Her Campus meeting, wiping my hands on my jeans because I was so nervous, and sitting in the back of the lecture hall away from everyone. I remember after a couple of meetings when I finally mustered up the courage to speak to Scotlyn, who I now can’t imagine not being my best friend. I remember the next year she introduced me to BB, and now both of them are the best friends I have ever had. I remember the Halloween party where my littles and I dressed as frat boys and won the costume contest and staying up late laughing and making TikToks with my friends at the winter retreat. I remember every time an event started to fall apart and the stress that came with all of us putting it back together again, every time I sent a frustrated message to the executive board, every philanthropy event I got to plan and be a part of, and every moment in between.
Still, in 10 years when I think about the memories we’ve made in Her Campus, none of those will seem as amazing as the ones we created this year. This year, I got to watch every single one of you turn the worst situation into something incredible. I got to see just how tenacious the women of Her Campus are, and I got to witness your unbelievable strength. We were given a Zoom account and told to make it work, and, against all odds, we did it. You made best friends, you bonded with one another despite only knowing each other through a screen, you made homes within your teams, you put your all into planning and participating in events, and you made this year better than I ever could have imagined. I will never forget the moments we spent celebrating all the good things that happened throughout the week, the hours and hours we spent talking about Olivia Rodrigo and that one dude who I will not be naming, our post-election celebration, and every other time I stared at my phone or computer with a smile on my face because of you guys. This year, you took what I saw as the world falling apart and turned it into some of the best moments of my life.
Despite everything, being your Co-President has been the highlight of my college career. Every frantic message I sent to BB, every bump in the road, and every technology fail was unbelievably worth it, and I can’t thank you enough for giving me this opportunity to lead. UNT gave me a whole lot of stress and even more tears, but it also gave me you, and I am so unbelievably thankful for that.