Photo Credit: Julie Gerstein

Truth Bomb: After a long day of class, my mind can’t help but wander. And about 86% of the time, that mind wandering leads me to BuzzFeed Style. I can’t help but click on post after post, and I love that I’m just as likely to stumble upon an equal amount of Beyoncé pictures and positive body image posts.

This week, BuzzFeedStyle Editor Julie Gerstein shares how her major gave her an edge in the fashion industry, why it’s OK not to intern in college, and what it’s really like to work at BuzzFeed.

The Interview:

College Fashion: Did you go to college? If so, what did you study? What was your college experience like?

Julie Gerstein: I did an undergraduate degree in women’s studies at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, which was great, because it was super interdisciplinary, and allowed me to take classes in multiple departments. My focus was on gender and representation, which I think is tied to what I do now. Having a degree in gender studies gave me a strong background in casting a critical eye at the fashion industry and body politics.

A few years later, I went back and got a master’s degree in media and cultural studies at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK. I highly recommend studying abroad if you can do it because it kills two birds with one stone – traveling abroad AND getting a degree.

CF: What was your sense of style like in college? How would you say it’s changed?

JG: OH BOY! I have always been a, uh, unique dresser. I wore a lot of thrifted and vintage clothes in college, platform shoes – a lot of things that really epitomized a certain moment in the ’90s. I also had short hair, which was definitely an anomaly at the time. All of these things, though, were as much about a reflection of my interest in fashion, as my involvement in various subcultures like punk and riot grrl, and indie rock music.