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January 2011
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Launching a Career
Kelsey Mirando launched the MU chapter after the company's founders spoke to Kelsey and fellow American Society of Magazine Editors interns during an information session last summer in New York City.
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Kelsey Mirando, Her Campus Mizzou
By Chelsea Reynolds
Master's Student
How magazine senior Kelsey Mirando built a start-up website to springboard her editorial pursuits.
Magazine journalism senior Kelsey Mirando isn't afraid of a challenge. The Tulsa, Okla., native will complete her term as president of the University of Missouri chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, participates in the Mizzou Alumni Association Student Board, was on this year's Homecoming Court and is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. But despite her involved lifestyle, Mirando found time this fall to launch Her Campus Mizzou, an online lifestyle magazine targeted at college-aged women who attend MU.
Her Campus Mizzou is the local chapter of HerCampus.com, a large network of university-targeted women's websites. National media outlets such as The Today Show, Seventeen magazine, About.com, The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Boston Globe have featured Her Campus' editorial initiatives. And The Huffington Post regularly syndicates student-produced content.
Journalism senior Kelsey Mirando recently launched a start-up website called HerCampus Mizzou, which provides service articles for women in the Mizzou community. This past summer Mirando completed an American Society of Magazine Editors internship with Ladies' Home Journal in New York City.
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Mirando, campus correspondent for Her Campus, launched the MU chapter after the company's founders, three recent Harvard grads, spoke to Kelsey and fellow American Society of Magazine Editors interns during an information session last summer in New York City. With their support, Mirando was able to start work on the MU chapter's site while finishing her internship at Ladies' Home Journal.
"When meeting the Her Campus founders and discussing the possibility of a Her Campus Mizzou launch, I was able to really see the magazine's potential to thrive on MU's campus because of our strong female community and J-School," she says. "The founders couldn't have been more receptive to or encouraging of my founding and leading the MU chapter. They were available for help every step of the way."
Before launching the site on Sept. 14, Mirando spent time building a core team of contributors. She enlisted friends from around the J-School to develop editorial content and publicize the website's launch. The team of women began the ongoing process of developing the MU chapter's brand and creating content to populate the site.
That initial tight-knit group of student journalists and public relations practitioners has now grown to nearly 30 student contributors. These women range in academic standing from freshmen through seniors and represent all the School's emphasis areas. Kelsey gives special thanks to publicity director Brooke Parsons, copy editor and features editor Briehn Trumbauer, editor Vanessa Meuir and editor Kaylee Nelson.
"The more our team has expanded, the more interests we're exposed to and able to cover," Mirando says. "We develop story ideas independently and also at our weekly editorial meetings. All content is assigned on a volunteer, first-come, first-served basis."
Her Campus Mizzou went live in mid-September and has consistently grossed weekly page hits in the top 10 of all 70 Her Campus chapters. That's an estimated 1,000 page views per week, and the site saw about 1,400 hits the week it launched. Mirando attributes the chapter's success to her team's passion for the content and the strong work ethic the J-School instills in its students.
She also credits the vibrant Columbia culture for the site's success.
"We have a very supportive journalism community in Columbia, and without that, we wouldn't have been able to launch the site," she says. "And even though it's a publication geared at college women, it's a great way for alumni to keep up with what's going on at Mizzou."
In November 2010, HerCampus staffers hosted a website launch party at Room 38, a restaurant and cocktail lounge in downtown Columbia. The party's theme: martinis and manicures. Photo: Kaylee Nelson.
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Being members of the website's target demographic doesn't hurt either.
"As college women living, working, learning and growing at MU, we trust that what we find relevant, pertinent and interesting our readers will, too," Mirando says.
Department content includes chronicles of on-campus events, an MU photo blog and a weekly blurb about a "Campus Cutie," a student nominated for her leadership and service at MU. Recent features offered tips to avoid gaining the "Mizzou 22" (similar to the "freshman 15" ubiquitous at other universities), coverage of the Citizen Jane Film Festival and highlights of Homecoming activities on campus. Though Her Campus departments are designated at the national level, the MU team has full editorial control over Columbia-centered features.
"In a way, we edit all the content for ourselves," Mirando says.
Even though Kelsey and her staff have fun managing the site, the experience has provided invaluable out-of-the-classroom journalism education. It's what insiders at the J-School call the Missouri Method, working for an independent media organization while completing a practice-based education, that provides the Her Campus contributors the most value.
"My experience with Her Campus has afforded me the opportunity to be an integral part of a successful start-up, hone my Web skills, connect with professionals in the mag industry and manage a growing editorial, photography and publicity staff," Mirando says.
On the team's fall agenda were a number of events to raise awareness for Her Campus Mizzou. These included a launch party at Belle Boutique on Ninth Street and a Martinis & Manicures event at Room 38, a downtown Columbia cocktail bar and restaurant. A fashion show at Belle Boutique is in the works for this spring.
And though she plans to graduate in May and seek an editorial job in Manhattan, Mirando is confident that the MU-based team will continue to grow and prosper in the future.
"Fortunately, our staff includes passionate women of all ages and all J-School emphasis areas, so I have no doubt that it will be left in great hands come May," she says.
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