Hometown: Bronx, NY
Major(s): English and Writing
Hobbies: Reading, writing poetry and personal essays, and playing around with makeup
Her Campus Ithaca College: Tell us about ZoetIC. What are you about and what is your role within the publication?
Mireya Chiriboga: ZoetIC is the Ithaca College’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta literary magazine. I am co-Editor in Chief, and Olivia Blush is my partners as co-Editor in Chief.
HCIC: What drew you to pursue editing and publishing?
MC: I always enjoyed reading books so books fascinated me. It’s like entering a new world for however many pages that book contains. When I started writing, that is what led me to pursuing the publishing and editing world. I like creating my own world and I was curious about what others had to give. I know how hard it is to publish: to be a writer and submit something that holds personal confidence to change the literary world. I want to help those writers with the courage and confidence to create a world and share it with the public— I want to seek the unheard voices.
HCIC: What is your dream job and why?
MC: I would love to be a children’s book editor, I started out with Young Adult (YA) and children’s book. They made my summers and weekends so interesting and adventurous so my heart is always with YAs and children’s books.
HCIC: Do you have any advice for underclassmen looking to get into writing, editing and publishing that might worry about how competitive it is?
MC: I would say to not let the fear of it (being an editor, or any position in publishing) be an impossible stop for you from trying. I’ve definitely had times of doubt but I think those moments are the ones that pushed me the most so don’t fear that feeling but embrace and use it as a motivation. Definitely try to work at any on-campus publication and try to get internships. Both of these experiences help you understand the field and look great on a resume. Also, network! Networking is such a big thing in publishing especially if you want to work in one of the top five publishing houses!