Addison Molloy ’25 came to Merrimack College looking for connections. Now, she’s preparing to graduate after creating one of the largest student clubs on campus.
Molloy, a communications major with a minor in English, brought Her Campus, the online magazine created for and by college-aged women, to Merrimack during her sophomore year. Since its launch, Her Campus at Merrimack has grown from 10 members to more than 100.
“There’s an interest on campus for another writing outlet,” she said.
Molloy originally attended a larger college in New England, but she said the sheer size of the classes made her feel isolated from her fellow students. That all changed once she transferred to Merrimack.
“As I’ve been here longer, I’ve realized what I was missing (at my previous college),” she explained. “I’ve really just embraced the community aspect so much. I feel like I can walk into any room here and be welcomed.”
One thing, however, was missing from Merrimack – a Her Campus chapter.
“Her Campus at (my previous college) was one of the only places I felt that community vibe,” she said. “I know what it feels like to be at a school where you feel like you don’t really fit in anywhere, so I wanted to help others with that.”
A friend in the Student Government Association (SGA) pushed Molloy to start the club. But she needed more than SGA’s approval. She needed to submit to the Her Campus national office at least 100 signatures from students, various writing samples and complete a slew of editing tests before being officially recognized. Luckily, all that hard work paid off.
“My work for Her Campus is also my internship,” she said. “It’s super nice that the work I was already going to do for my club qualifies for academic credit. I’m in one less class now.”
On top of serving as club president, Molloy writes at least two articles per semester.
“I really like writing personal essays, book reviews and pieces on other people,” she explained. “Really, it’s anything that inspires me at the moment.”
In fact, Molloy encourages her writers to express themselves through their writing in a similar fashion. Students are allowed to write whatever they want as long as it’s nonfiction.
“We have a lot of nursing and STEM majors who love to have that creative outlet,” Molloy explained.
Her Campus Merrimack posts about four articles a week and hosts at least two events per month. Since March is Women’s History Month, Her Campus Merrimack was recently kicked into overdrive.
“We had about eight events this month so far,” Molloy said. “We did a thrift store fundraiser for our Relay For Life team where we raised around $400. We also did a collaboration craft night with the Unity House, where we made DIY patchwork hoodies. We had more than 65 people show up.”
Now that her Merrimack journey is coming to a close, Molloy said she’s proud to have made a lasting impact on campus.
“It’s so rewarding when you put yourself out there and find success,” Molloy explained. “You always think that there’s a chance that you could fail, but it feels so good to be welcomed by the community. The success (of Her Campus at Merrimack) feels like it’s going to be long-standing after we’re gone.”
