Cheese Grater Magazine: Editor-in-Chief

With the role of Editor-in-Chief of Cheese Grater, I aim to continue to encourage the value of the written word in allowing important issues to come to light. As an English student, I am confident that I can do so through my capacity to communicate clearly through writing, an ability that I will use to guide other members of the society in development of their own journalistic writing skills.

Having been Editor of my high school’s magazine, I understand journalism to be a refined process, and I plan to apply this appreciation to Cheese Grater. I have always had a good eye for detail and recognition of nuances, which helps when writing and editing both fictional and non-fictional writing. I believe that my awareness of syntax and semantics is what will allow Cheese Grater to continue to release publications that are accessible to a wide audience.

In the last year, I have written articles relating to teaching strikes and UCL’s development of its second campus. Both projects have enabled me to view important issues through unique perspectives, and to find ways to translate my research into articles that everyone can connect with. As Editor-in-Chief, I hope to continue to highlight that the issues faced by one group of individuals at UCL are issues that we all, in some way or another, are also impacted by.

I joined CG at the beginning of this year, and worked on a piece about sexual harassment at UCL halls. Working on this piece for months and peeling back the layers of the issue made me realise my love for writing and collaborating. I worked closely with the editors, and have a sense of the society’s infrastructure. This piece was my passion project, an important part of my year, and it would be absolutely incredible to be responsible for ideating and curating content that needs to be talked about.

I’ve been in editing positions previously, including my own online literary magazine. This gave me the skillset I would need to ideate and work on pieces in their initial stages, edit and bring out the best in content, and meet deadlines. As Editor  in my final year of school, I constructed a 100-page long yearbook on inDesign, so yes, I know how to work that. I’m good at getting people to do things and chasing after them, which is essential given the different sections and their dynamic nature.

Working closely with the editors showed me how demanding the role can be, including planning socials, collaborations, and ensuring the smooth running of the sections. I'm aware of the commitment this needs, and am excited to put in the hours.

I love CG’s sense of community and would be honoured to be a part of helping it grow.

(Some vital info to inform your decision making process: I once won an 'Is this a cheese or a font?' quiz with 200 participants)

Having been part of the Cheese Grater for two years, next year will make me a ‘cheese-teran’ who’s worked on the magazine throughout all of uni (and I want to keep this ‘cheese-streak’ by being the next editor-in-chief!). 

I’m suitable for this position because: 

• Co-editing the Grater Expectations zine this year gave me a solid understanding of what making a magazine entails
• As a zine editor, I’ve contributed to improvements including 1) weekly zine meetings instead of fortnightly 2) more collaborations to vary our content 3) more socials to help people meet
• I’ve been involved with all Cheese Grater sections, so I can give practical advice where necessary
• I’ve written for several other student publications including The Tab and attended multiple journalism workshops, making me a good person to go to for writing tips 

As the editor-in-chief, I would like to:

• Help our writers grow through writing workshops and sessions with industry professionals 
• Organize more socials (who doesn’t like a good party?) and opportunities for people to meet
• Facilitate more Cheese-Grater-wide collaborations with other societies/student magazines to diversify our issues (with a possible special issue in collaboration with another society) 
• Work closely with editors of all sections to give ideas, boost participation, and keep content relevant to our student audience