Wesleying is Wesleyan University’s independent student blog. As lead editor, I oversee all of the blog’s day-to-day operations, working with a small team to write and publish content for Wesleyan students.
Starting out
I joined Wesleying in my junior year and quickly grew to love the small but passionate team. Over the course of the semester, I wrote and published several pieces—my first post, a guided tour of Wesleyan president Michael Roth’s Wikipedia page, racked up nearly 200 views. I was able to strike a balance between being humorous and informative, and made sure to include lots of engaging images.
I appreciated that Wesleying’s independent blog format allowed for a more down-to-earth style of writing—a breath of fresh air compared to the more formal writing of The Argus, Wesleyan’s student newspaper.
Stepping into Leadership
In my senior year, I took over as Wesleying’s head editor. This left me in charge of all blog-related activities, including planning weekly meetings, proofreading drafts, and enforcing loose submission deadlines. Using my web design skills, I’ve also completely redone Wesleying’s website, establishing a fresh visual brand.
Since Wesleying does its own fundraising, one of my biggest tasks was planning a bake sale in my senior fall. After filling out the required approval forms, I relied on the baking expertise of my fellow blog members, asking which treats would be both easy to make and popular among buyers.
In the days leading up to the bake sale, I purchased ingredients, set our pricing, designed promotional materials, and even made an internal spreadsheet for tracking income. The bake sale was a great success, and we exceeded our funding goal an hour earlier than anticipated.
A New Vision
I’ve also put some thought into reshaping the blog’s identity. Past editors were strict about publishing only Wesleyan-related content, but in an attempt to broaden our reach, I encourage members to write about music, fashion, and anything else that strikes their fancy. This way, our writers can enjoy greater creative freedom, and our broader range of topics means there’s more content for our readers to enjoy.
My notes for our first meeting, pictured at the top, were my first attempt at articulating my new vision for Wesleying. I explained that while we wanted to maintain some level of specificity to Wesleyan, members could write about whatever they wanted, so long as it was somehow relevant to student interests. With a small but dedicated team of writers, I’ve successfully secured a future for the blog.
