Lily Herman is obsessed with the internet and she’s not ashamed to admit it. While some consider spending 10 to 15 hours a day on the internet an addiction, Lily considers it just an average day.
As a junior at Wesleyan University, she somehow balances classes with running The Prospect, a blog she co-founded that helps high schoolers understand the college admissions process and serving in editorial capacities with The Muse, Her Campus and USA Today College. Amongst all of that, Lily was also featured as one of Glamour Magazine’s Top 10 College Women of 2015.
Whether she’ll become a media giant in New York City post-graduation or a thought leader in the Twitter-verse, Lily is a student to keep your eye on. Read on to learn more about Lily, her work and her passions.
What’s unique about your story?
I’m unabashedly obsessed with the Internet. I feel like a lot of young people nowadays aren’t proud of the fact that they spend so much time surfing the web (or are told that they shouldn’t be), whereas I’m very okay with the fact that 10-15 hours of my day revolves around what’s happening online. I can talk serious think pieces, cat memes, world news, and I have the World Wide Web to thank for all of that.
What’s something that not many people know about you that has defined who you are today?
I biked across America during the summer before my senior year of high school! It was a six-week trip from Savannah, Georgia to Santa Monica, California that covered over 3,000 miles, and it was entirely self-supported (we carried all of our own equipment on our bikes with no transportation!).
To this day, the “American Challenge” (as it’s called) is my proudest accomplishment, because I never considered myself an “athletic” person, and I’ve never learned so much about myself in such a short period of time. The highs were high and the lows were low, and I give a lot of credit to that trip for how I am today. I got to take the journey with some amazing people who’ve gone on to do awe-inspiring things, and I could talk about that trip forever. It’s the hardest I’ve ever done but also the best thing I’ve ever done.
What led you to attend Wesleyan University?
The second I stepped on Wesleyan’s campus as a high school senior, I was pretty much sold. The student body is diverse, interesting, smart, and strong-willed. The campus is pretty and manageable, and the entire college just seemed really supportive. I love the fact that Wesleyan students are so incredibly passionate and dabble in so many things while also not being competitive whatsoever. I’ve seen professors go above and beyond over and over again to help students. These things make the community special, and they make me proud to be a part of it.
What will make college worth it for you?
Hear the rest of Lily’s story on campus.about.me.
Zoë Björnson is a College Outreach Coordinator with about.me. She is a graduate of Tulane University. You can find her on Twitter @kzoeb.