Cool, Sophisticated and Unique--Staff Interview with Lillian Hotchkin

Written by Abigail Portwood

I had the privilege of chatting with Lillian Hotchkin, the Digital Editor at Align Magazine. She is a junior at the U of O and has been at Align since Fall, 2019. She is a member of the executive staff and oversees Align’s Twitter and Spotify accounts.

What is your role at Align Magazine and what does that look like on a weekly basis?

Lillian: “I used to run the Instagram, and now I oversee aspects of the Instagram, I run the Twitter and I completely run the Spotify account. Every week includes managing those accounts and the contributors that work with the accounts.”

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on while working for Align?

Lillian: “I was an Art Director for a Valentine’s Day shoot, which was so fun because I love Valentine’s Day and I could go through Pinterest, I could make up this fantasy photoshoot and I had a lot of creative freedom which was really cool.”

What is your favorite part about working with Align?

Lillian: “My team includes the writing, design, and illustration editors, art directors as well as Kaeleigh and Gillian. It’s really interesting because you’re surrounded by really creative people and you have a bunch of resources and other people to help bring things together.”

What is your favorite media platform to work on?

Lillian: “Spotify is really interesting to have people come on and be able to do projects that they can do comfortably and connect to themselves. I feel like I can really get to know people that way and it’s cool to be able to share those through Align and get feedback on those.”

What aspect of your life do you find the most creativity from?

Lillian: “The people that I meet, I find that there is something so interesting in everyone and you learn a lot about people and their cultures and their life story. That is constantly inspiring for me.”

What or who inspires you to be yourself?

Lillian: “Honestly, my mom inspires me. People’s parents often inspire them and my mom has always really been herself and very driven, so that’s pretty inspiring.”

How do you incorporate creativity into your free time?

Lillian: “In my free time, I have always loved to draw. That really got me into art and that’s why I am pursuing an art minor. I love to create little crafts, my roommate and I have been creating T-shirts and finding constant ways to be creative.”

How would you describe your personal style?

Lillian: “My personal style is pretty minimal. A lot of grunge influence, a lot of strong female rock artists have fashion senses that are really cool so I find myself incorporating a lot of those things into my style.

Thanks, Lillian, for sharing some insight on your role with Align!