This past week I had the pleasure of sitting down with fellow SOJC student Sydney Seymour. As the Editor in Chief of Align magazine, University of Oregon’s student run and produced fashion and lifestyle magazine, Sydney manages more than 200 students and ensures the production of a new magazine every term. I talked to her about time management, balancing life outside of school and Align, as well as what she plans on doing after graduating.
Sydney Seymour began her journey with Align over three years ago as a writer for the Dusk to Dawn issue. She quickly realized that she wanted to invest more time in the organization and joined as a writing editor her Junior year of college. Now a senior, Sydney has been with Align for nine academic terms.
When we talked about the most important lessons Sydney has learned during her time as Editor in Chief, she emphasized the importance of teamwork and organization. “I’ve learned the importance of just staying on top of things, time management, and ensuring that you’re keeping track of multiple moving parts. I also learned the importance of collaboration, delegating tasks and leaning on other people when you can.” As a member of her team, I can attest that Sydney promotes all channel communication and ensures that everyone in the team has the support they need.
Leading a team of over 200 students is no easy feat and has come with its fair share of leadership struggles. Sydney recounts that one of her most difficult experiences as a leader was her first time overseeing arranging week. “I think the most challenging experience was probably the first time I had to be at issue arranging week. I didn’t really realize just how much time goes into arranging and producing a magazine. It was a very strenuous experience, and a very tedious experience. I learned the importance of taking breaks, and giving yourself grace. When you’re really frustrated or when you don’t feel like you can do something, it’s important to just stick with it and get through that barrier.” Sydney emphasizes the importance of taking breaks so you can produce the best work possible.
Fortunately, Sydney has not experienced many public relations crises during her time as Editor in Chief, but she did have to navigate a situation with a former student using artwork produced for the magazine for his personal zine. “There’s a graduate student who used some work that he made for us and basically created his own magazine. And there are probably some copyright issues with that. But with the help from the old editor-in-chief, we kind of like distilled the issue and we didn’t really do much about it. We just kind of let him do his thing. We tried to be the bigger person in the situation.” Align constantly is changing who works for them as the issues are produced on a term-by-term basis. By keeping an open mind with past, present, and future contributors, Sydney can mitigate any potential management problems. She also emphasised that it is important to be the bigger person when it comes to personal conflicts that arise in the magazine.
As her time with Align comes to an end, Sydney reflected on some of her many positive memories. These include getting new issues or attending events that Align organizes.
“My favorite memory from Align is every single time we get the issues in print. I absolutely love seeing the issue in print and just having a physical copy. I also love any event we do. My favorite event was the Align spring market last spring term. We kind of just all got together, shopped, helped vendors sell goods, made bracelets, and had yummy drinks. It was a bunch of fun.” I can also personally attest that the spring market last year was a blast and it was amazing to uplift and empower so many student creatives here at the University of Oregon.
After graduating, Sydney hopes to continue working in the magazine industry. Her goals are to start as a writer and ultimately work her way up just like she did in Align. Our conversation was incredibly enlightening and showcases Sydney’s dedication, resilience, and passion for storytelling.
Follow Sydney on Linkedin to learn more about her and her amazing work!
Sydney’s Linkedin:
Mia Mickelsen 
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