We are all in this together

One advantage of serving as the president of CAFME and holding various positions in campus organizations at UNC is meeting other people. While that may sound obvious or minimal, I will go on to explain why this is the core objective of CAFME and the reason I believe students should join our organization in the fall.

CAFME is a magazine club where students meet to

1. Enjoy a love of magazines
2. Learn about internships
3. Learn about jobs and local companies through guest speakers and trips
4. Enable real students like you and I to make friends within our area of interest who later become contacts at various companies and lifelong connections

Sound familiar? Ed2010: “Ed2010 is a community of young magazine editors and magazine-editor wannabes who want to learn more about the industry so we can fulfill our dreams of landing top editing and writing positions in the magazine industry.”

Breaking into the magazine industry can be hard, and you must research your competition if you want to be competitive. We have all heard “there are so few jobs out there” or “you should pick a more lucrative major.” But then again, we want to do what we love. And for many of us, it’s writing… or taking photos… or using social media … or editing… or creating moving multimedia pieces. Why suffer through biology or business if it’s not what you want to do?

I keep an eye on what other students with similar career aspirations are doing and gauge what I need to do to stay involved and a top-notch journalism student in preparation for when graduation comes and I’m thrown into a competitive job market. Mina, the only person I know with the same double major combination as myself, has served literally as my mentor and good friend for the past two years. I highly recommend finding someone like this for yourself.

Get involved with CAFME to learn about other student’s experiences and share your own. We are all in this together (okay that was lame and I don't like HSM, but it still applies). It’s by making connections and meeting people (the right people) that you can make your dreams start becoming a reality (or maybe just draw on their experiences to figure out what you want to do with your life). It starts with getting involved in campus publications (taking a position at the DTH or writing for Patchwork Mag, etc). Tap into what Carolina has to offer.

There are students who sit back, and there are students who work their way to land their dream job (or just an in-between job for now) or a job in general (upon graduation). Employers will look at how you spent your time in college. Joining CAFME is a great start for students wanting to get involved. Our members hold positions and are part of ALL kinds of campus publications and have completed all types of internships (from small to large, from local to big cities).

CAFME is the Ed2010 of UNC (we are all involved in various campus publications as Ed members are involved in all kinds of magazines). We get together and have a good time. We learn together and help each other.