Member of the Week: Dasha Menafee

CAFME's full of some pretty amazing people, and we want you to get to know them. This week? Meet Dasha Menafee, a rising senior interning at ELLE Magazine this summer in New York City.


Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Dasha Menafee; I am a senior at UNC graduating in December 2012. I am an English major and African-American studies minor. I am from Fayetteville, North Carolina.


How did you get involved with CAFME?
I got involved in CAFMe after hearing some of my friends who are in the Journalism school talk about it. I've always been heavily interested in the magazine industry so I thought it would be a fantastic club to join.


What do you like the most about the club?
What I love the most about CAFME is the sense of community. Everyone who is a member of CAFME is willing to help each other and that can be really helpful when you're applying for internships; every member wants to see the other succeed.


What else are you involved with on campus?
On campus I have been involved with a number of publications. I was a writer for The Well-Being, UNC's health and fitness magazine. I was a street-style blogger for the Daily Tar Heel's fashion blog 'Dress Code.' Also, I was the Blog Editor for SCOPE Fashion and Lifestyle Magazine last year.


Tell us about your internship.
I am interning at ELLE Magazine in their accessories department.


How did you hear about the opportunity?
I searched for the internship using Ed2010, which is a great CAFME resource. That is where I had found my last internship at Interview Magazine.


What has been the most challenging/rewarding aspect of the internship?
The most challenging aspect of my internship thus far is to be very quick when doing tasks for the assistants and editors I work with. The fashion industry moves very fast and it is very important that you are up to date with what's happening. What's most rewarding interning at ELLE is being in the presence of the accessories and fashion editors that I have admired. It's amazing that I get to interact and learn from them every day.


What tips would you offer to others trying to follow in your footsteps?
Always follow up when applying for internships. You never know when an opportunity will suddenly e available; it's all about timing. Also, when you're on an interview, make sure to have at least five questions to ask your future employer. It shows that you are enthusiastic and very interested in the magazine or public relations company.


What would you like to do after you graduate?
Once I graduate, I hope to find a job in the fashion industry, working specifically with accessories tether it's in editorial or at a public relations agency.


What is your one Carolina must-do before you graduate?
My one Carolina must-do before I graduate is to jump over the small fire circles when UNC's basketball team wins when we play Duke's basketball team. It's very exciting and you've definitely proven yourself as a true Tarheel once you've done that.

Seeking Interns: QSR and Carolina Woman

Looking for a fall internship? These Triangle publications are hiring interns. Apply today, and good luck!

Job/Internship Type: Paid Internship
Company/Publication Name: QSR Magazine
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.


Description: QSR magazine, is looking for a few (anywhere from 2-3) interns this fall for a paid editorial position.


A business-to-business publisher located close to UNC in Chapel Hill is looking for part-time, paid editorial interns to begin work in Fall 2012. We publish QSR magazine, QSRmagazine.com, and RMGTmagazine.com, which are leading information resources for the national restaurant industry. Interns will have the opportunity to build his or her portfolio by writing several short and long stories for both the print issue of QSR and the websites. Other duties include copy editing and posting articles to our websites, among other things. We prefer a junior or senior who can work at least 10­–15 hours a week during Fall semester, with an opportunity to continue for the full academic year. Past interns have gone on to secure full-time positions at major publishing companies.


Please send cover letters, resumes, and three writing clips to Sam Oches at sam@qsrmagazine.com.



Job/Internship Type: Unpaid Internship
Company/Publication Name: Carolina Woman Magazine
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.

Description: Unpaid internships in the spring, summer and fall are available to students at accredited colleges and universities. Due to the number of applications received for each position, the program is very competitive. Our office, which is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., is located on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.Organized and outgoing multi-taskers who enjoy learning in a fast-paced environment thrive at Carolina Woman. Past interns have gone on to the staffs of leading media companies, such as Oprah, Vogue and iVillage – to name a just a few!

Journalism/Editorial Assistant

What’s the secret to breaking into journalism? Publish, publish and publish some more! Carolina Woman’s interns write feature stories for our 100,000+ readers in the Triangle. The articles cover a range of diverse, compelling subjects – everything from fashion to finance – there’s something exciting for everyone. You’ll also have the chance to act as a liaison with the many events we sponsor, drafting agreements and fielding questions.
Duties Include:
• Writing and editing articles for publication in the print magazine
• Maintaining and increasing Internet presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and our website
• Connecting with coordinators of local events for media sponsorship
• Working with individuals, businesses and organizations in the Triangle for media coverage
• Taking charge of organizing information in Excel, email and print

Advertising/Marketing Assistant

Can you sell snow to a snowman? Would you like to learn? Here’s your chance to use and acquire marketing skills at a highly successful monthly publication, right here in the Triangle. Our Director of Advertising will personally teach you sales tactics as well as how media space is bought and sold. Work closely with Carolina Woman’s prestigious clientele, handling customer service with finesse and professionalism.
Duties include:
• Researching potential new clients
• Maintaining client database
• Enhancing and improving magazine circulation
• Assisting in advertising sales
• Working with the Advertising Director to determine magazine layout

Graphic Design/Mixed-Media Internship

Do you have an eye for what looks good? Exercise your aesthetic creativity in one of the Triangle’s most popular local publications. Carolina Woman’s Graphic Designer will work closely with you to create our vibrant, eye-catching monthly. As part of the experience of working in a fast-paced print media environment, interns will have the chance to participate in every aspect of the business, from brainstorming, to crafting, to proofing, to producing and finally to publication.
Duties include:
• Designing stories and ads on Adobe InDesign
• Assisting Advertising Director in magazine layout
• Reading proofs and checking facts
• Maintaining and increasing Internet presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and our website
• Developing information on multiple databases

If interested in applying for one of these positions, email cover letter and resume to publisher@carolinawoman.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Member of the Week: Chelsea Lowell

CAFME's full of some pretty amazing people, and we want you to get to know them. This week? Meet Chelsea Lowell, a rising senior interning at ad company BooneOakley in Charlotte.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a rising senior at UNC Chapel Hill, majoring in Journalism and following the advertising sequence. I am from Charlotte, N.C., which is also where I am interning this summer. I love to write and create advertising campaigns.

How did you get involved with CAFME?
I got involved with CAFME because some of the girls at Her Campus UNC are in it and absolutely love it!

What do you like the most about the club?
I like CAFME because I think it's a great way to network.

What else are you involved with on campus?
I have fueled this passion with my work at Her Campus UNC, where I am the marketing editor. I am also a member of the communications committee of UNC’s advertising club, in addition to being a member of the fundraising committee of Habitat for Humanity.

Tell us about your internship.
Currently, I am an account management intern at BooneOakley. Two UNC alumni, John Boone and David Oakley, founded the agency in 2000. The agency is now an internationally-acclaimed advertising and digital agency that creates bold, culture changing ideas for brands.

How did you hear about the opportunity?
I found out about this internship through one of my friends who interned with BooneOakley the previous summer and have loved my experience with the agency so far! Never discount how important networking is when scoring an internship!

What has been the most challenging/rewarding aspect of the internship?
I love the freedom of working at an advertising agency, but it can be stressful when you are working on a tight deadline. Writing a brief and presenting it to a client can be challenging, but very rewarding at the same time. I wouldn’t trade my experience at BooneOakley for anything!

What would you like to do after you graduate?
I would love to work at an advertising agency in NYC upon graduation.

What is your one Carolina must-do before you graduate?
I have yet to drink from the Old Well!

Member of the Week: Alison Ives

CAFME's full of some pretty amazing people, and we want you to get to know them. This week? Meet Alison Ives, a journalism student interning at ZTrend and CHAOS Magazine this summer.


Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm a senior journalism major specializing in reporting with a minor in creative writing and art history hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina. I have an unruly sweet tooth and an unending love for contemporary dance, magazines and vintage shopping.

How did you get involved with CAFME?
I believed I found out about CAFME my sophomore year at Fall Fest. I was shocked to find a club that focuses on one of my favorite things in life: magazines! I signed up immediately and I've been on board ever since!

What do you like the most about the club?
When it comes to advice and lessons that I can apply to my professional life, I think I've definitely gained more from CAFME than I have from any class I've taken. There's so much to learn from any given meeting or CAFME event, and the members who run the club are experienced in all fields of journalism and are always happy to share their stories and any helpful tips. It has been great getting to know students that share common interests and career goals.

What else are you involved with on campus?
Outside of my time studying and with CAFME, I dance with UNC's Blank Canvas Dance Company; I am one of the PR chairs for the annual COUTURevolution Sustainable Fashion Show and I contribute stories for a number of campus-centered publications, like Reese News and Scope Fashion Magazine.

Tell us about your internship.
This summer, I have two editorial internships. The one that brought me to New York is with ZTrend, an online guide of invitation-only listing featuring small and independent boutiques located in New York. I get to visit New York's finest boutiques, interview owners and write profiles on each store to be included in the online directory. My second editorial internship is with CHAOS Magazine, and that entails bogging twice a week for he fashion and model news sections.

How did you hear about the opportunities?
Ed2010 was my go-to site for internship listings; I found both of the internships that way.

What has been the most challenging/rewarding aspect of the internships?
I feel as though I have an absolute dream job. I spend my days exploring the beautiful neighborhoods, coffee shops and boutiques that New York has to offer, and then I get to sit down and write about it all. It seems extremely rewarding to have new pieces published almost everyday, as well as getting the opportunity to refine my writing skills. But because my boss has given me so much responsibility and doesn't want to watch over my every move, it is important that I stay focused and motivated on my own. I set my own schedule and am accountable for any lost time, so that has definitely been the biggest challenge.

What tips would you offer to others trying to follow in your footsteps?
I know I spent the better half of my junior year applying and interviewing for internships, and I hear a lot of no's, or even worse, no response at all. I think it really just comes down to being persistent, staying motivated and realizing that your efforts will pay off. I'm having one of the best summers of my life, and if I would have given up on the internship search after a month or so of negative feedback, non of this would have been possible! So just keep applying until the right door opens up for you.

What would you like to do after you graduate?
An editorial position at a magazine in New York would be the dream!

What's your one Carolina must-do before you graduate?
I MUST see Duke and UNC battle it out in the Dean Dome next season. I haven't had any luck in past ticket lotteries so I'm crossing my fingers that senior status changes that!

Member of the Week: Brittain McNeel

CAFME's full of some pretty amazing people, and we want you to get to know them. This week? Meet Brittain McNeel, a graphic design student interning at Niche Media and ArtistDaily in NYC.


Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm from Tampa, Florida and am a senior studying graphic design with UNC's Journalism School. I'm captain of the equestrian team, and my favorite things are horseback riding, reading coffee table books and going to music festivals. I'm also the art director of the online magazine Uncharted, and am pumped to do a redesign next semester.

How did you get involved with CAFME?
I joined CAFME sophomore year because it has always been my dream to work in magazines.

What do you like the most about the club?
Hearing advice and anecdotes from professionals is what I love most because it confirms that it's worth the hard work to pursue a magazine career.

Tell us about your internship.
This summer, I have two design-related internships in NYC. The first is with Niche Media, where I work with several art directors on FOB/BOB spreads, photo and text selection/placement, and whatever else they ask me to do (never getting coffee, thankfully!). The second internship is with ArtistDaily, which owns several magazines including American Artist and Drawing magazine. Here I work with the art director and the marketing director, so I switch off every week designing spreads for the magazine and making house ads for print and web. This week I'm starting to work on the iPad version of American Artist, which is really exciting!


How did you hear about the opportunity?
I found my internships from Ed2010 and SPD.org. I absolutely love SPD! It was wonderful student resources from beginner designers in addition to professional blogs and a job board that keeps me optimistic.


What has been the most challenging/rewarding aspects of the internship?
The most challenging thing about my internship so far is accepting that sometimes there isn't much for me to do. I help out several art directors at once, which usually keeps me busy, but Niche runs like a well-oiled machine so once the magazine is designed, the art directors get a bit of a break until content for the next issue comes in. It's actually refreshing to know that if I decide to work for Niche or a similar company after graduating, I won't be stressed all the time, working after hours like I hear many magazine interns talking about. I will like to be busy and feel like I'm contributing, so it's an adjustment to get used to not always being able to help.

What tips would you offer to others trying to follow in your footsteps?
The best advice I have for people applying for internships is to ask their interviewer about how they got started in the magazine industry. It's a subtle form of flattery, so everyone I've asked has responded enthusiastically, saying that's a great question and they'd love to explain how they got their job. In addition to flattering and impressing your interview, you learn more about how you can get a job like theirs.

What would you like to do after you graduate?
When I graduate, I would love to have a starting position in the art department of a magazine, either in NYC or out west, maybe San Francisco. GQ is my favorite magazine, and I would ultimately love to work for it.

What's your one Carolina must-do before you graduate?
I have a whole bucket list of things to do my senior year, but a big one is to explore Raleigh more. It's easy to get caught up in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, but I discovered some awesome places in Durham this year (like Dame's Chicken and Waffles) and want to do the same with Raleigh.

Summer 2012: What CAFME's Been Up To

CAFME officers Alyssa Bailey, Carson Blackwelder, Melissa Paniagua
with CAFME co-founder Cassandra Zink at our latest NYC event. 

Summer may be in full swing, but CAFME's anything but on hold this season. Across the country, our members are interning at some of the nation's best — from E! Online in sunny L.A. to NPR in Washington, D.C. They're writing all about their experiences on our Intern Diaries blog. (Haven't seen it yet? Change that now. Read their latest posts here!)

And in no place is CAFME's invasion more pronounced than New York City, where 16 of our members are interning. Whether it's Hearst or Conde Nast, print, PR or broadcast, our aspiring Cafme Manhattanites are doing all things journalism — and finding time to meet in between.

NYC CAFME Sundays have been underway for the last month, organized by co-presidents Alyssa Bailey and Carson Blackwelder. What have we've done?

The Central Park cupcakes

We had dinner at Penelope's where restaurant veterans Alyssa and Meghan DeMaria (who went to the cute restaurant on CAFME's first NYC trip) tried new dishes with vice president Courtney Lindstrand, 2011-2012 secretary Rachel Bennett, Courtney Tye and former UNC student (and current RISD transfer) Michelle Wainer.

We had a picnic in Central Park, where Alyssa brought apricot-cinnamon cupcakes for Carson, Courtney T., Jasmine Lamb, special projects coordinator Melissa Paniagua, Rachel and friends to enjoy before some of the group went to the MET after. The group's attempts to give the leftover cupcakes away weren't too successful.

Cafeteria's lemon ricotta pancakes

We had Father's Day Sans Fathers brunch at Cafeteria in Chelsea, where Melissa and Alyssa enjoyed amazing lemon ricotta pancakes. Dasha Menafee and Carson boasted their over-21 status with posh drinks.

We had ice cream in East Village at Big Gay Ice Cream Shop with CAFME co-founder Cassandra Zink, where Cassandra, Carson and Rachel enjoyed the Bea Arthur (vanilla, dulce de leche and Nilla wafer).

What's next for CAFME in NYC?
A big Fourth of July picnic with ASME and other Hearst interns! See the Facebook event here.
A trip to Central Park Zoo next Sunday (July 8)
And much more!

Are you in NYC this summer? Get the latest on events: email Alyssa Bailey at AlyssaLBailey@gmail.com to be added to our NYC Facebook group.

Upcoming (Free!) Events for Members in NYC:
Ed2010 Happy Hour: Tuesday, July 10; 7-9 p.m. at The Hill (416 3rd Ave.)
Ed2010 Book Club Discussion, The Woman Who Fell From the Sky: Tuesday, July 17; 7 p.m.
Mediabistro Intern Party: Tuesday, July 17; 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Turtle Bay NYC (987 2nd Ave.) RSVP required.