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

No matter who you are, everyone deserves to feel beautiful in their own skin. I have always been a heavy believer in the philosophy that every single person deserves to feel confident in their own skin, whether that means you are wearing ten pounds of makeup or none at all, and Emily Baruch, a rising junior here at Virginia Tech, would completely agree. In fact, in an effort to help spread this philosophy, she has recently started her own organization called Mission Makeover. The whole goal of this organization is to help women in tough situations feel as beautiful as everyone else deserves to, and the work that Baruch is doing is incredibly important.

Question #1: Who are you, and what do you study here at Virginia Tech?

My name is Emily Baruch and I’m a clinical neuroscience major here at Virginia Tech.

Question #2: If you had to summarize it, what is Mission Makeover?

Mission Makeover is an organization I created that involves going to hospitals, women’s centers, Hospice, and other similar places, and giving makeovers to women and girls (and boys if they’d like!). Mission Makeover is centered around the belief that everyone deserves to feel beautiful, especially during incredibly hard times.

Question #3: What made you want to Start Mission Makeover?

When I was 13, all I wanted for my birthday was to give my gifts to the kids who couldn’t have big extravagant birthday parties with their friends, so I had my friends bring me toys and I donated every one to sick boys and girls who couldn’t have birthday parties of their own. Unfortunately, at age 20, I don’t get to have birthday parties like that anymore, so I had to find another way to go about helping those around me. Once I started brainstorming, I realized I could combine two of my biggest passions: makeup and medicine, and just like that, Mission Makeover was born.

Question #4: Where do you see this mission going in the future?

I’m from Tampa, Florida, so I’ll be doing most of the makeovers there this summer, but I would love the chance to bring MM to Tech in the fall and start a program with Carilion where we can get more people involved and maybe even make it into a club or something bigger!

Question #4: How did you get into doing makeup?

When I was little, I used to help my mom pick out what lipstick she should wear on dates with my dad by swatching every color on my arm. As I got older, my love for makeup only increased, and I started to learn more about it and how to do it through things like YouTube videos and practicing on my friends.

 

Author’s Note: Emily is a good friend of mine, and she actually did my makeup for my birthday in 2018, and it looked absolutely fabulous. Down below, I’ll include a picture of what my makeup looked like (the first picture), as well as some other makeup looks that she has done in the past!

 

Question #5: What is your biggest goal for mission makeover?

All I want from Mission Makeover, and life in general, is to make a difference. Whether that be in one person’s life or 1,000. I hope Mission Makeover proves to women and girls that no matter the situation, they deserve to feel as beautiful as they are and that it just takes their mind off of whatever they’re going through in that moment.

Question #6: Where can people find more information/support Mission Makeover online?

I have a Facebook page: https://facebook.com/missionmakeovers

Gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/mission-makeover

And my personal email if anyone has any questions! Emilysbaruch@gmail.com

 

Image Sources:

All images provided by Emily Baruch and Mission Makeover

 

Catharine Knowles

Virginia Tech '21

Hi friends! My name is Cat, and I come from a one-stoplight town in rural Pennsylvania, but I love to read, write, edit, and much more. I have always dreamed of seeing my name on the spine of a book, and you'll almost never find me without my nose in a novel or not obsessing over a new tv show or movie adaptation.
Kaitlyn can usually be found 15 minutes early to wherever she's going, with Starbucks in hand. She is passionate about social media and finding new ways to advocate for mental health, and enjoys making playlists, road trips, and writing in her free time.