Stowaway Magazine

When people ask me what I study, I should just say English. I am getting a degree in English, after all. What I want to say is editing. I’m getting a minor in editing and it has become more of a focus because it’s marketable (so it’s probably what I’ll be doing post-grad) and because I love it. So instead I say “English and editing” and people get confused. Then they ask what I want to do and that opens up a whole new can of worms because I don’t know, exactly. I love editing, publishing, writing, document designing, etc. And social media, art, culture, music, travel, administrative work…I’d like to think the possibilities for post-grad employment are endless. I’d also like to think that because I’m so open-minded that I’ll be able to find something to do when I graduate this December. But this creates a problem because when I answer “I don’t know” to the “What do you want to do with that?” question, I seem ambitionless and lazy. It’s really that I’m excited to do anything and I’m doing what I can to be eligible for everything.

One thing that I know I like is magazine publishing, which is great because that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing this semester. For my editing capstone class, I’m on the staff of Stowaway, a travel magazine for young adults. There are about 12 or 13 people in my class, which comprises the entire staff of the Spring 2012 issue. We will all be helping with the writing, editing, designing, advertising, and promoting of the magazine, but we are also all assigned specific positions.

I’ll be working as an assistant art director as well as a member of the web team. As an art director I’ll help with the layout and design of the articles and the magazine overall. I’m excited because I love document design and art, but there are fewer opportunities for that if you’re not a graphic design major. On the web team I’ll be focusing on social media and online outreach to promote the magazine and increase readership. This is partly so I can get good at using social media and partly because I love Stowaway already and I want other people to love it, too.  The girls in my class are all amazing and I can already tell that we will be creating something great this semester. So check it out! Follow us, tweet at us, comment on our articles, like us on Facebook, and tell your friends. Or just read my articles and tell me how awesome they are. Because they will be.