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10 Questions with Valley Magazine’s Editor

photo3Have yall got a copy of Valley Magazine yet? It came out the week before spring break. If not, you can still pick up a copy by the art gallery in the HUB.

To learn a little more about the publication, we talked to Editor-in-Chief Arianna Davis.

The magazine’s pretty neat. Our favorite part is the ‘Guys Answer’ section on page 33, mostly because the questions are kind of ridiculous. Our favorite quote is from Dirk Mateer on page 31: “I’m just a guy, teaching this class.” Indeed, he is. Here are the 10 Questions…

What is Valley Magazine? How many people are involved with it?
Valley Magazine is a women’s life and style magazine that was founded in 2007. The magazine covers everything from beauty and fashion to relationship advice to real issues with students such as outsourcing and college life in third world countries.

We have a little over 100 people on our staff, which is divided into two sections: Editorial and Promo.

What do you do as Editor-in-Chief?
As Editor-in-Chief, I oversee every single thing about the magazine. On the Editorial side, the writers turn in their articles to their department editors, and from there I do any final edits. I then work with our Graphic Designer to put together the layout of the magazine and make sure that all of the stories and the layouts have the same tone that we want the magazine to give off. After everything is finished, we get proofs from the printers and then I have to go through the entire magazine to catch any last minute typos, misprinting or problems with the layout. On the promo side, I work with the promotions team to make sure any events or promotion for the magazine are acceptable and represent Valley well.

What was your interview with John Legend like?
Interviewing John Legend was surreal. I was nervous leading up to it, because I had never interviewed a Grammy-award winning star before. But he was actually very nice and personable and when I was talking to him it seemed like I was talking to a friend. The whole experience was something I’ll never forget.

Valley Magazine has a lot of relationship advice. What’s the single best piece of advice you’ve heard during your editorship?
The best piece of advice I’ve heard has been to enjoy college life and don’t take anything too seriously. Even if you are in a relationship, while you’re in college you should remember that you are young and have the rest of your life to settle down completely.

In your opinion, what’s the state of fashion at Penn State?
Fashion at Penn State can be a bit limited because of the weather. In the winter time, the uniform consists of big puffy coats and Uggs. For fashion the best times at Penn State are the fall in the spring, because you really see students getting creative, even if they are just going to class. It’s hard in State College because there aren’t a ton of stores, so a lot of students have to shop while they are at home and then they bring their respective styles to PSU.

What is your favorite place to shop? Why?
I love shopping in New York City. My favorite store is always changing depending on my mood and the season, but I love shopping in the big department stores around 34th Street in New York or finding little boutiques and shops in different neighborhoods and finding unique pieces that I know no one else will have.

If you could be any type of dinosaur, what would you be? (The Willard Preacher said brontosaurus and Miss Virginia said a velociraptor.)
I’d be a Tyrannosaurus Rex because that dinosaur was so powerful.

What’s it like to live in a freshman dorm as a senior? (ed. We researched a bit on her blog…)
It’s actually not as bad as I thought it would be. I live on my sorority floor so I love living with my sisters, and being in Easy Halls as opposed to being off campus is a lot more convenient. I like being able to walk across the street to the commons and grab some food late night. The only downside is the community showers!

Are you going to pursue the magazine industry after your graduate?
Yes, my ultimate goal is to be Editor-in-Chief of a magazine one day.

Vogue, Cosmo, or Harper’s Bazaar?
I can’t pick one, I actually subscribe to them all, it really just depends on my mood! :)

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About the Author

Davis

Creator of @OnwardState. Big fan of sweaters.

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