Serving as The Miami Student’s Design Editor has been the opportunity of a lifetime. Little, sophomore-year Olivia never experienced a real leadership role before and felt thrilled that the then-Design Editor Macey Chamberlin chose her to be next.
Out of all the people on the team, I never expected Macey to pick me; surely someone else was more qualified.
Immediately after she asked me, I jumped up and down with excitement and couldn’t wait to take on my new role. At the time, I had no idea how much the role would change me, in more ways than one.
For starters, I had never used Adobe InDesign before taking on this position; however, I knew this challenge would be a great opportunity to develop my design skills. Not only that, but being a leader was completely new to me. I had never managed people or given design direction before, and I felt like an imposter in my own major at times.
As I settled into my role, editors and designers began asking me questions, and I began to realize that I was one of the paper's primary decision-makers. This, along with recruiting more designers, helped me grow my self-confidence.
Delegating graphics to aspiring designers and seeing their work gave me so much joy. The energy of the newsroom and watching all these people, print after print, work towards something we loved created a space I never wanted to leave. I felt valued and was given a sense of purpose that filled my cup every single Wednesday.
Because of this, I learned to truly trust myself as a designer for the first time.
Within two years, I created so much for me to look back and smile about. When I look at my favorite print front cover — the 2024 election edition layout — I still sit back and say, “Wow, I did that.” And now, bookmarking my end with the front cover for the 200th anniversary edition feels like no better way to leave one lasting mark.
An honorable mention has to go to The Battle of the Bricks front cover as well, because that one got a lot of compliments (Thanks, you guys!) I am also so proud that I was able to help with all the recruitment branding as well; refining the materials to be cohesive gave me such a cool opportunity to make design suggestions.
From growing the design team and meeting and working with all the various editors, to working alongside two editor-in-chiefs, I created a lot. The cool thing about print design is that I will always have something tangible to hold onto, reminiscing on each unique creation.
Of course, I need to give some special thank yous, starting with the two editor-in-chiefs that I worked under. To former Editor-in-Chiefs Kasey Turman and Olivia Patel, thank you. You gave me so much creative freedom to design various front covers and experiment with different layouts. You both blindly trusted me with the look of the newspaper, and I am so grateful we got people more excited to pick it up every week.
To my best friend, assistant editor and incredibly talented designer, Madeline Buecker — thank you for being with me from start to finish. You kept me sane and supported me during all the late nights and fun collaborative design meetings. I will always look up to you as a designer, leaning on you to push myself to be better.
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To future design editor, Sydney Mulford — thank you so much for always showing up with more excitement than me at times, offering such a fresh perspective to the team. I know how much you care about The Student, and I could not have picked someone better to carry on what we have started.
Lastly, my whole design team deserves so much gratitude from me, because you all gave me the space to lead and stuck with me as I navigated so much. The shared passion for what we do is one of my favorite things about being creative. For this reason, it solidified why design is my favorite way to bring people together, giving such a deeper meaning to what The Student does.
My time at Miami University would not be the same without this newspaper. The Student gave me purpose, people and confidence, making me feel ready for what is next in my career. Words cannot describe how much I have changed, but I owe a part of it to this organization, so for that, I am forever grateful. Goodbye!
Olivia Michelsen is a senior communication design and entrepreneurship major. She is the Design Editor for The Miami Student, and she hopes to live in Cincinnati working in some creative capacity after graduation.
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