Meet senior creative Writing major and Cincinnati native, Elizabeth Cook, or Ellie for short. She’s known for her work as Up Magazine’s diligent copy editor and member of Sigma Tau Delta, an honors English fraternity. She’s also a beloved barista at Dividend$ café, famous for speedily crafting your perfect latte or caramel macchiato. Additionally, Ellie has spent a semester abroad in Luxembourg, as well as a studious summer spent doing research for the undergraduate summer scholars program. People that know Ellie will no doubt remark upon this girl’s fun, adventurous personality, cool sense of style and obsession with chai tea. Read on to hear more about her experience as copy editor for Up and her advice for studying abroad.
Her Campus: What have been some of your biggest learning experiences, or take-aways from being the copy editor of Up? Ellie Cook: Time management, for sure, is a huge thing. Also, just being able to have patience with people on staff and knowing that half of the job is making sure all the articles are getting written, fielding emails, answering questions and helping to connect people with sources. I’ve really learned that knowing people is a huge benefit to being a copy editor, and being anything at all honestly. It really helps to know people and be friendly, and you have to not be afraid to feel a little awkward! I’ve also learned how to have a really close eye to editing … It takes a very meticulous eye—it’s very time consuming. One of my proudest things of Up is how far it’s come since my freshman year, which was still awesome for a college magazine, but now it looks so unbelievably professional and sleek. I’m pretty proud of the content this year and everything we’ve turned out … I’m very happy with it, and I think it’s awesome. Go read it, everyone!
HC: What’s your dream job? EC: My dream job actually is to start my own magazine one day. That would be the ideal. I’d like to incorporate some of the things that go into Up, like fashion and culture. It would be pretty rebellious in a sense I guess, because if I did [have my own magazine], the dream would be to not use Photoshop and to use models of all different races, ethnicities, shapes, sizes, … and talk about all kinds of cultural issues, social issues, and probably financial issues but I don’t really know as much about that (laughs). But more realistically I’d love to write for a magazine. I’m applying to some and I would love to be a copy editor In the future or editor of any kind.
HC: You’ve studied abroad in Luxembourg. Do you have any advice for students considering studying abroad? EC: What advice don’t I have?
1. Definitely realize it’s going to cost a lot of money, but it doesn’t need to cost as much as it would to travel here. It’s a lot cheaper once you get to Europe. Getting there is one of the most expensive parts.
2. Also, I would just say to try to really disconnect from social media, and keep in touch with everything back home. I mean yes, you want to keep in touch with your parents and not cut yourself off from your friends but one of my favorite things about traveling was that I didn’t have a cell phone connection … It is so much cooler to be able to just completely engross yourself and immerse yourself in traveling and the people that are around you. I think that’s something a lot of people don’t do as much as they should.
3. Kind of have an idea of the places you want to go before you get there, because once you get there it’s a whirlwind. The second you step on that plane to go to Lux you don’t stop until you step off when you get home. It’s incredible, it’s amazing. You won’t sleep but our motto was, “We’ll sleep when we’re dead,” or “We’ll sleep when we’re in America!”
4. Have an open mind. Be ready to be overwhelmed at some point. It’ll hit you one weekend when no one speaks the same language as you and you’re in an unfamiliar place and you get lost, and you miss your train and you lose something important, which will happen but it’s all going to be okay. They’re nice people. People will help you if you’re nice to them. Just don’t talk to people in dark allies.
5. Have fun! Explore. Bring a backpack.
HC: What are some of your favorite places in Oxford?EC: O-Pub for sure. My friends would laugh if they heard that question because I go there all the time … Skippers, La Bodega (oh my God, Egg Salad Florentine. I recently reached regular status there), and Koffenya. I love Koffenya— cool environment and good coffee. Oh, and Uptown Park. It’s just pretty and it’s nice to sit there and people watch.
HC: What do you like to do in your spare time when you’re not working?EC: I like to hike. There are really cool trails in Oxford and they all connect to each other so it’s really cool we can start from all these different points and end up meeting up at different places. My roommates have dogs, so I like to play with them and take them on walks. I like to run, when I’m motivated to do so. I really just like to hang out with friends. I’m a big people-person, I like to see as many of my friends in a week as I can. Oh, and New Girl— love to watch New Girl. I also have a blog; that’s a huge thing I do in my spare time.
HC: What are your plans for after graduation? EC: The plan as of now is my parents’ house until I find a job…(laughs) but I’m job searching right now. I’m looking for editorial positions at publishing houses or a magazine. A lot of them are in New York or California.
HC: What will you miss the most about Miami? EC: The people—my friends, specifically. I think it’s really cool to live in a place where everyone is the same age. I don’t think we realize how cool it is while we’re here. I’ll miss High Street, I think it’s really pretty, and I like that there are so many cheap bars within walking distance of each other. I’ll miss how freakin’ beautiful our campus is, in all seasons. And I’ll miss being on Up, honestly, I love being on Up. And I’ll miss Divs and being a barista. I love working there, everybody rocks.