Photo courtesy of Harper Wilbanks
Harper Wilbanks is a member of the Starnes Media Creator Collective who will be working with Village Living this spring.
Harper Wilbanks is a member of the Starnes Media Creator Collective who will be working with Village Living this spring. In this interview, Wilbanks discusses how she became interested in working in journalism and some of the activities she’s involved with at Mountain Brook High School.
Q: Tell us about yourself.
A: Hi, my name is Harper Wilbanks. I'm 16 and I'm a sophomore at Mountain Brook High School.
Q: Why did you apply to be part of the Creator Collective?
A: I wanted to apply for the Creator Collective because I have always loved to write. I've been interested in journalism for multiple years now, and I thought that, no matter what, this would be a really amazing experience and I would take away skills and tools I didn't previously know.
Q: What activities are you involved with?
A: In school, I'm a part of FBLA and French Club.
FBLA, which stands for Future Business Leaders of America, is a club where we have business owners from the Mountain Brook and Birmingham area come in and talk to us about what their role and their business is, how [their business] came to be and what the overall goal is of the business.
In French Club this year, we are raising money for kids in Haiti, and we are going to be helping them get medical supplies and educational opportunities.
I'm also a part of varsity golf, and I have been on the golf team since I was in seventh grade, but I've been golfing since I was around five or six [years old].
Outside of school, I'm a part of GirlSpring, which is a women's empowerment organization where we write monthly articles on women that inspire us or have uplifted us or anything that could be inspiring for other young women.
We also have activities where we can go and meet women who have started their own businesses or made impacts in other ways. That is super uplifting and empowering and really amazing to hear from people who you would have never had the opportunity to meet or talk to otherwise.
Q: What do you hope to do after high school?
A: After high school, I know that I definitely want to go to college and I don't know where I want to go yet or what for sure that I want to major in, but I'm interested in digital marketing, communications and political science in that area or field.
Q: What is your dream job?
A: Although I don't have a specific job that I'm dead set on, I definitely want to do something that is helpful for people and is also keeping them informed, and I've thought about teaching, communications, relations, etc.
I also love to travel and that would be really fun and exciting for me if I was able to in my job.
Q: What is a fun fact about you?
A: A fun fact about me is thatI'm originally from Tampa, Fla., and I lived there until I was about ten years old.
In Tampa was when I was originally introduced into journalism, but, more specifically, travel journalism. My best friend's aunt was a travel journalist, and she would always talk to me and my best friend about her experiences in all the different places she was going for work, and I immediately thought that was so awesome and couldn't stop thinking about it. And she is still a travel journalist to this day, and I still keep up with her.
