Student Profile: Juliette Lopez
During my first year at Chatham, I (Abigail Kneuss ‘23) have noticed that so many interesting people attend Chatham, and our sense of community is strong, even during hard times. In an effort to showcase just a few of these great people, I’ll be doing a series of student interviews in the coming weeks. These highlights are for students, about students, and by students. This week I am featuring Juliette Lopez ‘22.
Juliette was one of the first students to welcome me to Chatham. We had classes together during my first semester and I quickly learned what a fun and caring person she is. She is a poet, a member of the Girl’s Cross Country team, a writer for the Communiqué (you may know her by her vegan crawl series!), and a high school swim coach. Learn more about her, her fun hobbies, and her passion for writing below!
Juliette Lopez ‘22
Major: Communications/Journalism and Creative Writing, with a minor in Photography
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Q: Why did you decide to go to Chatham?
A: I didn’t look at any other schools. I swam in high school and we had a few meets on-campus and my mom really wanted me to be on the swim team here. I ended up signing up for the scholarship interview day and figured I would just go here that day. Plus, I stalked the Chatham Instagram and it seemed cool. I liked the sustainability aspect and the small class sizes, but those are things I learned about once I got here. It was all kind of a happy accident.
Q: What do you want to do after graduation?
A: I don’t really know yet. I want to get more internships and experience before going into a field. I would like to do what I did for the Communiqué; doing reviews for a publication, and I would also like to do creative writing. One thing I know for sure is that I don’t want to be in an office space.
Q: What have you been up to this summer?
A: I took up roller skating during quarantine. I also have started my own business selling shrinky earrings (follow my Instagram, @letsgetshrinky!) which is a good way to de-stress with everything going on. Besides that, I’m running, writing poetry, and making TikToks.
Q: Do you have a favorite poem or poet?
A: I have more of a favorite genre that I like to read and write which is coming-of-age poetry. I particularly like when poets mix styles and write in a modern way.
Q: What inspired you to be a journalist/author?
A: In high school, I had one journalism class which was Photojournalism and I really liked it. I originally applied to Chatham for the nursing program, but that class changed my mind. I want to write about things people aren’t aware of or don’t think about. I did a vegan crawl with the Communiqué where my boyfriend, Jesse, and I went to different spots in Pittsburgh that have good vegan options. I wanted to break the stigma around and educate people on veganism.
Q: What are you are looking forward to with the fall semester starting soon?
A: Seeing people again, at a distance, of course, is what I’m most excited about. I’m excited and nervous to see what experience we are going to get. I had some classes I was really excited about but they’re obviously not going to be the same without being hands-on. However, I will take a different experience over getting myself or others sick any day.
Q: Any advice to First Year students starting at Chatham?
A: This is going to be different than what you imagined college would be. Find a hobby that helps you de-stress. Keep in contact with your family! But mostly, just try not to stress because things will return to normal eventually.
Know a current or future student that should be featured or would like to be featured yourself? Email us! We’re happy to hear your suggestions.