The college student who posted footage of her interview with Rachel Dolezal describing the struggles of being black told BuzzFeed News Tuesday that she wanted people to see the former civil rights leader "be herself" and draw their own conclusions.

Lauren Campbell — who posted the footage on YouTube after news of Dolezal's white heritage broke last week — also described the 2014 interview, which was recorded for a thesis project at Eastern Washington University.

"You could tell she was well-read and this was something she had studied," Campbell said.

Several people had recommended Campbell interview Dolezal for the project, which involved interviews with other black women, as well as her own experiences adjusting to life in conservative, majority-white Spokane.

Campbell, who is black and has since graduated from EWU, said she posted the unedited videos to give people a look at how Dolezal talked about herself and her experiences while she was presenting herself as a black woman.

"[Dolezal was] a very loud, pro-black voice doing good things in that area to promote racial equality," Campbell said. "That was pretty new for that area, I think."

When Dolezal first stepped into the room, Campbell said she was surprised by the adjunct professor's light complexion. After the camera was off, Campbell said Dolezal talked about going to medical school and other life transformations that didn't seem logical.

They didn't stay in touch.

"I didn't feel like I had a lot in common with her," Campbell said.

Since then, Dolezal has publicly said she identifies as black. But those kind of statements make life even harder for black people, Campbell said, noting that she is regularly challenged over whether her preference in music and clothing, or the way she speaks, is "black enough."

"This is the skin I was born in," Campbell said, "and it dictates how people see me and treat me. It's not something you can just make up."