CAFME in NYC: Who's Who

Get to know the CAFME members who traveled to New York City to meet up with Ed2010!

Caitlin Covington is a senior electronic communications major and creative writing minor at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is a writer and editor for Carolina Woman Magazine, a magazine for women in the Triangle area with a readership of more than 100,000. She is also a contributing writer and photographer for Greatist.com, a trusted health and fitness source for the young, savvy, and social. She runs her own blog, Southern Curls and Pearls, where she posts about fashion, beauty, fitness and food. In her spare time, she loves cooking, working out, taking pictures and reading her beloved fashion magazines. After graduation this May, Caitlin is hoping to land her dream job in NYC working for a fashion, food, health, or fitness magazine!

Carson Blackwelder is a junior English and journalism double major concentrating in reporting. On campus, he is an assistant design editor and arts reporter for The Daily Tar Heel, managing editor for Rival magazine and special projects coordinator for Cafme. This past fall, he worked as an editorial intern at Our State magazine, North Carolina’s bestselling regional magazine, where he copy-edited articles and produced sidebars for the issues. Carson is a pop culture writer and graphics producer for "Brain Game," a "Jeopardy!"-style quiz show for local high school students, on WRAL, Raleigh’s CBS affiliate. He has blogged for Blue & White magazine, a campus publication, and Cliché Magazine, an online entertainment magazine based out of Los Angeles. Last summer, he interned for Raleigh Downtowner, a small lifestyle magazine focusing on the city. Carson enjoys all things TV, music and movies and hopes to intern at an entertainment publication in New York City this summer before moving up after graduation.

Charlotte Taylor is a sophomore advertising major and art history minor at UNC-CH. She works as a design assistant for the Carolina Union Design Services, working on various design projects for a variety of the over 600 student organizations on campus. She also works as a PR & marketing intern at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, helping to market the planetarium, both design-wise and content-wise, throughout North Carolina. She works as a staff member on the design desk at The Daily Tar Heel as well. Charlotte was born and raised in Huntington Beach, Calif., by her artist mother and thus, loves both the ocean and the imagination/ creativity she has come to associate with it. She hopes to continue working in the arts after college, beginning in New York City and hopefully traveling to places equally as incredible in the years following.

Courtney Lindstrand is a sophomore Journalism-Editing and Graphic Design major at UNC-CH. She is a campus ambassador for LuckyU, Lucky magazine’s pilot marketing program that aims to bring affordable fashion to college women. Courtney is the Art Director, blog columnist and a freelance writer for Blue & White, UNC’s premier feature magazine. She is a designer for Scope fashion magazine and a contributing writer for Her Campus UNC, an online magazine for college women. She is also the interior design coordinator for COUTURevolution, UNC’s eco-friendly fashion show. Last summer, Courtney was an editorial intern at The Daily Reflector, the newspaper in her hometown of Greenville, N.C. This summer, she hopes to intern at a major fashion or lifestyle magazine in New York City. In her free time, you can find Courtney attempting to cook using recipes from her favorite website, Pinterest.

Courtney Tye ia a double major in graphic design and information science and is interested in both print and web design. She is the design editor for Carolina Passport Magazine and design director for Scope Magazine, and has designed and copy edited for other publications as well. In the summer of 2011, Courtney interned at University Directories, working on planners and directories for over 190 U.S. colleges and universities. She has also interned for Coman Publishing, a Durham-based magazine publishing company. After graduation in May 2013, Courtney hopes to pursue a career in magazine design.

Denni Chenxi Hu is a sophomore Editing and Graphic Design major from Guangzhou, China, which it’s right across the stream from Hong Kong. Last summer, she interned at a Newspaper in China. Not only did she learning how to write catchy articles, she also did investigative reporting to cover a hotel fire and murder scenes. After gaining experience at GDTV Station, she discovered the fun of visual communication, which led to my subsequent job on the Multimedia desk at The Daily Tar Heel. She even took a media production class and got into the Cannes Film Program this summer. Obsessed about magazines and newspapers since primary school, she would read the New York Times daily, fashion blogs and magazines. This summer, she would like to find a style and fashion-related magazine internship in NYC, where she can make the first step in realizing her dream of working in the magazine industry.

Jade Poteat is a sophomore photojournalism and psychology double major. She is the photographer for the communications department at the Ackland Art Museum and has been a staff photographer for The Daily Tar Heel and for several other on-campus publications. She enjoys doing portrait photography for friends and family and wants to break into the wedding photography business soon. Besides doing photography, Jade loves to dance and write poetry. She is pursuing a creative writing minor and dances with a student-led group called Star Heels. After graduation, she hopes to earn her master's degree in psychology while still being able to pursue photography as an avid passion.

Jalena Threatt is a junior English major at UNC-CH. She calls Memphis, Tenn., home, where her parents and dog, Mocha, currently reside. She is a staff designer for The Daily Tar Heel and has written for Her Campus UNC. Recently, she joined Blue & White Magazine's public relations staff. This summer, she hopes to get an internship working in the editorial, fashion or public relations department of a magazine in NYC. Jalena loves art, particularly photography, fashion and celebrity gossip blogs! As for the future, Jalena is still figuring that out. She knows she wants move to New York City or Los Angeles, pursue a career in the media industry and travel as much as possible.

Jasmine Lamb is a junior public relations major at UNC-CH. She is a marketing and advertising intern for Carolina Woman, the magazine for women in the Triangle. This past summer, she interned in the digital marketing department at USA WEEKEND Magazine, where she became interested in integrated communications. She is currently a public relations coordinator for LuckyU, a campus ambassador program for Lucky magazine and Condé Nast. Jasmine also does layout design for Campus Blueprint, a socially progressive campus publication. After graduation, she hopes to work in the integrated marketing department for a fashion or lifestyle publication or possibly a creative and integrated lifestyle-marketing firm.

Katie Sweeney is a sophomore photojournalism and English double major from Tampa, Fla. She loves to travel and has been to Europe three times, including when she studied abroad in London this past summer. She is a vegetarian and loves all animals, especially her two pet bunnies. Photography is a way of life for Katie. She views the world through her lens and loves telling people’s stories. She is currently the assistant photography editor for The Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s newspaper. Katie is addicted to Pinterest and loves to bake, be crafty and scrapbook. She loves fashion and getting dressed up, but she also loves going outdoors when she vacations at her family’s cabin in the mountains. Reading and writing is a passion of Katie’s, which is fitting because she was named Katie Scarlett after one of the South’s greatest literary characters.

Lydia Harrell is a senior at UNC-CH's School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the editing and graphic design sequence, and is pursuing a minor in art history. She is an art intern at Chapel Hill and Durham magazines where she helps do administrative work and design advertisements. Last summer, she worked in Charleston, S.C., as an advertising production intern for Gulfstream Communications (publisher of Charleston magazine, Charleston Weddings and Charleston Home), where she designed advertisements, refined her Photoshop skills and styled special sections photo shoots. Lydia also works on the graphics desk at The Daily Tar Heel, is a senior designer for Heelprint Communication, a student-run creative marketing agency, and is the director of web development for the Eve Carson Scholarship. She is very interested in magazine and promotional design and hopes to get a job in the design field upon graduation in May.

Mary Stevens is a sophomore multimedia journalism and communication studies double major with a minor in English at UNC-CH. On campus, Mary is a staff writer for the arts desk of The Daily Tar Heel, where she also works as a designer. She has contributed stories to the online magazine for college women Her Campus-UNC and to the annual creative writing department newsletter Chapter and Verse. She has interned for The Statesville Record & Landmark in Statesville, N.C., where she discovered her passion for writing about the arts. This summer, Mary hopes to intern at a major magazine in New York City, at NPR in Washington, D.C., or as a media relations apprentice at a performing arts festival. Mary has recently discovered an interest in screenwriting, so she is taking movie production and script writing courses concurrently with her journalism studies. In her spare time, Mary enjoys attending theater productions, playing basketball, traveling and reading.

Melissa Paniagua is a junior journalism student with a focus in public relations at UNC-CH. In the fall of 2011, she interned for Southern Weddings Magazine, where she was inspired every day by the lovely ladies who work there. She is currently part of the public relations team for the student government executive board. She is also a writer and PR for Her Campus, an online college women's magazine, and Uncharted Magazine, a campus publication about all things art in the Chapel Hill area. She has an appreciation for all things innovative, artful and well designed and could happily live off tea and almond things. This summer, Melissa hopes to intern in a fashion, lifestyle or travel magazine as well as continue to indulge herself with cultural knowledge.

Nicole Yang is a senior journalism major at UNC-CH, specializing in editing and graphic design. Currently, she works as the design assistant at Making Brands Happen, a luxury marketing company and as the editorial assistant at Southern Weddings. On campus, Nicole acts as the layout director of Patchwork, a student-produced social justice magazine and the co-president of the Carolina Association of Future Magazine Editors, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Ed2010 chapter. In the past, she has been the art director of Men’s Retirement, the layout editor for Uncharted and a designer for Reframing Mexico, a multimedia documentary project for Carolina Photojournalism. Nicole loves colorful products, organic details and fun packaging and hopes to become the art director for a women’s lifestyle magazine in the near future!

Rachel Allen is a sophomore Journalism, Reporting, major at UNC-CH from Charlotte, North Carolina. She was recently named editor-in-chief of Uncharted, UNC-CH's popular arts and music magazine. Rachel writes for two other campus publications: Her Campus, an online magazine catered to collegiate women, and Campus BluePrint, a progressive political publication. She has also written for Scope, UNC-CH's fashion magazine. As one of five campus ambassadors chosen to pilot a brand ambassador program for Lucky Magazine, Rachel devised and is implementing a marketing campaign for Lucky at UNC-CH. She is currently an editorial intern at NEXT for Women, an online community for young professionals. Rachel hopes to further her passions for writing and editing this summer with a major magazine internship. She loves basset hounds, UNC basketball, Hunter S. Thompson and all things Grateful Dead.

Rachel Bennett is a senior journalism major at UNC-CH. Rachel is an editorial intern for Carolina Woman magazine, a monthly magazine for N.C. women that has a readership of over 100,000, where she’s in charge of the Home section and social media. She is also an intern for WRAL-TV, the CBS affiliate for Raleigh, N.C., and Give Me My Remote, a popular online destination for TV news. During the summer 2011, she was an editorial intern for Her Campus, the No. 1 online magazine for college women. On campus, she is the secretary of Cafme, UNC’s Ed2010 chapter, and was an editorial writer and online staffer at The Daily Tar Heel. She enjoys TV, movies and spending time with family and friends. Although her roots and heart are in the South, she hopes to work in New York City for an entertainment or women’s publication.

Sierra Piland is a senior Journalism - Graphic Design and Communication Studies - Media Production double major at UNC-CH. This is her second year as the president of Cafme (Carolina Association of Future Magazine Editors). Last year, she led UNC students to NYC to visit Ed2010 members and tour magazines. She also played a big part in Cafme winning Ed’s Best New Chapter award in 2011. Sierra is currently the assistant art director at Southern Weddings magazine. In the past, she has worked with Her Campus (founded the UNC branch in 2010), CMT (Country Music Television), Scope (Kaleidoscope, UNC’s popular fashion magazine), University Directories, The Daily Tar Heel and Carolina Fresh (a start-up magazine). She hopes to go into the magazine or film industry upon graduating this May.

Sydney McKinney is a Journalism major specializing in advertising at UNC-CH. In her first year being a member of Cafme (Carolina Association of Future Magazine Editors), she landed a summer internship with SHAPE magazine as a result of networking with people in the club. Sydney will be working as a marketing and advertising intern this summer at SHAPE magazine in the New York City office. Currently, Sydney acts as the Junior Publisher for Scope magazine, UNC-CH’s student-run fashion and lifestyle magazine, and this fall, she will be promoted to Publisher. In the past, Sydney has worked as a staff writer at The Daily Tar Heel, and as a member of the LuckyU campus ambassador program on campus. Upon graduation next May, Sydney hopes to go into the magazine industry in the field of marketing and advertising.