(By Ryan Pickle ‘24, staff writer)
Meredith Haas, a senior English and political science double major, has had quite the array of experiences at LVC.
Coming in as a political science student, Meredith thought a future in government could be for her, but she wanted to explore other fields.
After taking ENG 130, intro to media in the digital age, Haas knew that English was for her.
“I was really hesitant to commit to making it a double major at first, even though I knew it was what I wanted,” Haas said. “After some time, I started to feel most at home in my English classes.”
One class in particular, newsroom workshop, became a staple in Haas’ schedule throughout her college years. After taking this class once in the spring of her sophomore year, Haas has not missed out on a semester of writing for La Vie.
“I wouldn’t consider myself a creative person – at all – but I’ve always loved writing,” she said. “Having the opportunity to find things interesting to me and create my own narrative around them was perfect. I’ve loved getting to work so closely with the staff to create a tangible result, one that we feel proud of publishing every time.”
Haas started out as a staff writer but worked up to an editor for junior year, and now co-editor-in-chief as a senior. Over the last three years, Haas has written over 30 articles covering a wide range of topics surrounding the LVC community, while also proofing the other articles that appear in La Vie.
Along with her position on the school newspaper, Haas has worked alongside Jill Russell, director of global education, on various projects for the Office of Global Education. This work stemmed from her own study abroad experience in Maastricht in the summer of 2023.
Outside of her rigorous academic schedule, Haas played on the women’s tennis team for three years. In these years, she was a two-time all-conference selection, two-time conference champion and helped the team clinch its first victory in the NCAA tournament in school history.
After a successful junior season, Haas decided to shift her senior year focus towards internship opportunities.
“Playing tennis was something I loved, which made the decision to step away from the team difficult,” she said. “Ultimately, getting myself opportunities that I knew would prepare me for my professional career was super important to me, and I would absolutely say the invaluable experiences I’ve gotten have made that difficult decision worth it.”
One of these experiences was an internship at Senator Bob Casey’s Harrisburg office that she could not pass up.
“I wanted to find a position that would incorporate both politics and communications, two things that interested me the most at the time,” she said. “I found the constituent services internship in Harrisburg, PA, with Senator Bob Casey Jr.’s office, and I felt like it was a great way do just that.”
As the constituent services intern, Haas worked on many cases statewide, assisting people across Pennsylvania. This position required effective communication, patience, thick skin and the ability to think on her feet, all skills she will use in the future.
Although satisfied with the work she did at Senator Bob Casey’s office, this would not be her final internship during her senior year. With a job search on the horizon, Haas thought there could be one more opportunity to diversify her experiences.
Northern Lebanon School District was looking for a marketing and community relations intern for the spring semester. Haas interviewed and was offered the position.
“This internship was not something I would have predicted for myself, but when professors brought it to my attention, something about it felt right,” she said. “Most of my projects have been creative, from managing their social media to being completely responsible for their community-wide newsletter.”
Come time to look for a job post-graduation, Haas determined that marketing was the way to go. After doing some research, she set her sights on WebFX, a digital marketing agency located in Harrisburg. In October, she attended an informational open house at the WebFX office, a perfect opportunity to see if they could be a fit.
“There is a huge emphasis on workplace community and employees being put first – plus it’s a dog-friendly office – which left me feeling like I could see myself working there,” she said. “I received an email encouraging me to apply, which catapulted me into their six-step interview process.”
After the long and very intense interview process, Haas was offered a position in December as an internet marketing specialist account manager where she will work directly with clients on improving their forward-facing internet appearance. She will begin her post-grad position in May.