“We’re open to not just women… There [are] no rules or limits on who you are or what you’re doing, like majors, age, year, any of it. We’re open to everybody joining, and we just try to be a supportive and fun place for people to go,” says Allison Bryan, Senior Editor of Her Campus at CNU, an online magazine with chapters at colleges and universities around the world. 

Despite what many people may assume based on the club’s name, Bryan emphasizes that Her Campus truly is a welcoming place where college students from all different backgrounds can share their unique perspectives. 

Bryan, a sophomore double majoring in psychology and leadership studies, first became involved with Her Campus when she visited their booth at an involvement fair her freshman year. She became Senior Editor in the Fall 2022 semester. As Senior Editor, Bryan leads the Writing Team, of which they currently have nine members. 

Bryan develops content ideas, edits all of her writers’ work and manages the article posting schedule for their website. She also hosts a weekly Writers Lounge at Einstein’s where her writing team can brainstorm ideas and work on their articles. 

While they have collaborative stories and theme weeks, like their recent collection of Valentine’s Day articles, writers always have creative freedom. 

Sophomore communication major Brooke Martin says,  “I love creative writing and HerCampus was a great opportunity to get nationally published while writing about the topics I’m actually interested in. We can discuss important shared issues that college women across the country are experiencing and not be censored.”

From articles like “Kiss, Marry, Kill: CNU Edition,” “How to Take Yourself on a Date (And Love Every Minute of it),” and “Spooky Movies for Horror Haters,” Bryan says, “It’s completely open to whatever our writers want to write. We really don’t have many limits or parameters around it.”

Students don’t need any previous writing experience to join Her Campus. Although it can be quite daunting to write for an audience, she encourages anyone who is interested to give it a try. When she first joined, Bryan felt insecure about her writing skills; now, as Senior Editor, she hopes to help her writers gain confidence in their writing. 

She says, “[S]o many people’s writing skills only fall within the academic range. Just like a teacher or a peer reading it, instead of it being published for a lot of people to be able to access it. So that scares a lot of people.”

“We’re doing a lot of helping people feel comfortable in their own writing skills right now, and also just slowly improving them… another thing I’m trying to teach people is they’re not writing something that has to be like the essays they’re turning in in class. It can be in their voice and it can be casual,” says Bryan.

Students can also be involved in other parts of the club. Her Campus at CNU has four different teams: Writing Team, Member Wellness Team, Social Media Team and Events Team. Members can join one team or work with multiple different teams. 

Bryan says, “We’re a very supportive group in general, all of Her Campus. Our whole thing is empowering each other and supporting each other and helping everyone improve within their own creative realms and everything.”

She continued, “So you’re not going to be judged or find a group of people that you don’t want to be around. We’re all so excited when we have new people on our team and so excited to share what we’re doing. So I think it’s really just about taking that step and then you’ll have the support you need after that.”

Bryan’s fellow Her Campus members agree that their club cultivates a sense of belonging and genuine friendship for its members. 

“As president, I love being able to foster a little safe space for everyone to meet new friends, branch out, and also develop their writing and creative hobbies,” says senior psychology major, Sierra Palian.

Shaundrea Miles, a junior psychology major and Eboard member, says, “One of the best things Her Campus has to offer is the opportunity to meet new people and form bonds through bonding events. As the Member Wellness Chair, I’ve also found it very rewarding to be able to uplift others.”

Her Campus meets once a week on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. To find out more visit their instagram: @hercampuscnu