Meet Hannah Lucia! She's been our spring semester intern and it's felt like a true collaboration. We've had discussions on how social media is changing, content strategy meetings, and she's brought big ideas to the table. She may only be a sophomore in college but she's made an impact and we can't wait to see what else she does!
As a young woman in college and early in your career what are you looking for when you look for jobs?
I think that first and foremost, I look at the location of a particular job posting when searching. I am someone who loves to explore and have always searched for a life outside of school/work, and so personally I need to be somewhere with lots of energy and things to do. Something I am also looking for is a lot of creative independence. Because I am more mature for my age, I like to take on more responsibility whether it be in a group project or independent work related task. Having the capability to put my creativity into use is huge for me as a person and is definitely a priority when job searching.
Growing up was there something you were particularly good at that you look at and think it helped shape your work ethic or how you approach a project?
Funny enough, growing up I thought I was going to be a professional tennis player. As ironic as that is now (I haven’t picked up a racket in quite some time), there are certain aspects that I really feel have shaped me into who I am today. When it comes to my work ethic, tennis taught me that it isn’t so much about how hard you work but about how smart you work. Growth takes time and if you are willing to put in the time to improve, you can achieve any goal you set your mind to. It also taught me how to be independent and stand up for myself if I find myself in a more serious type of situation. As a singles player, you only have yourself to rely on, and as I’ve gotten older I think I’ve carried this same type of mentality: that I can trust my judgement and intuition when it comes to making big life decisions.
How do you break up your day while working/ going to school from home?
To be quite honest I am guilty of meshing my work and personal life. I am the type of person who (if I am in love with what I am doing) does not mind working on a project at any time of the day. That being said, I have collected some activities and do certain things throughout the day to help break up the work grind. For those who do not know, I am the content creator and founder behind my influencing account called @anythingbuttnnaked (the reasoning behind that name is a story in itself), and devoting a few hours a day to shooting content and editing videos/photos really brings a piece of mind. I also take my “holy” walks that take up a good chunk of the time I have allocated for workouts. As I’ve gotten older, I don’t work out so much for the physical changes but more so for mental stability. Within the last few months I have also become a podcast person (something I thought would never happen). My favorite podcast currently is “The Morning Toast” and I think it’s the perfect way to squeeze in my daily dose of pop culture without having to watch hours of television.
What support from other women or mentors do you wish you had? Or questions you'd like answered?
Something I’ve always struggled with is finding emotional support through others. I am huge on connection and the many interactions and opportunities I’ve had to work with other very strong independent women have oftentimes been disappointing because while I look for professional guidance, I am someone who also likes to get to know people on a deeper level. I think there isn’t a specific set of guidelines one needs to follow in order to achieve “success” and so I try to make it a point to develop personal relationships as I find I have so much more to learn through them that way. Another huge thing I felt was lacking growing up is support via body image. People in general struggle from time to time, and I wish the women I grew up with viewed themselves in a more positive way and encouraged the same for me. I’ve noticed that as I am growing older, it has become harder to love myself and feel that if I had had more positive examples of body love between other women, it would not be as hard.
If you could give advice to yourself a few years ago what would it be?
I do not consider myself a very religious person, but I would say to trust the universe. I have been through so many personal struggles but feel they were one hundred percent necessary in order to lead me to when I am at the moment. Although I still have so much more to accomplish and am not where I want to be in life just yet, it helps immensely knowing that everything happens for a reason. I would also preach gratitude to my younger self. It takes losing something to realize how great things were before, and I would tell myself not to focus on the material things in life so much.
What's your RECESS?
I think my RECESS really changes based on my mood. Recently, I’ve been really into vintage shopping and researching the history behind certain fashion accessories. I also love creating mood boards via Pinterest and feel like they really inspire me to lead a more “put together” life (whatever that means). Something I’ve gotten into over the past few months is home decor. I love a good youtube room decor styling video and have so much fun rearranging the furniture in my room or finding and adding little pieces to help spruce up the energy in my space. Another thing I consider to be a sort of RECESS has been my love for any romantic drama series on Netflix (my current favorite being Bridgerton).