It was an application on a whim and a short-notice email that led two Ilium staff members to trade in Upland scenery for that of the Big Apple as they traveled for the College Media National Convention March 4-7.
Donna Downs, associate professor of communication, also serves as the advisor for the Ilium, Taylor’s yearbook. Alexa Twiggs, senior public relations major, is editor in chief, a position she has held for two years following a co-editor in chief position her sophomore year.
The Ilium, which has seen an increase in public recognition and success the past few years under both Downs’ and Twiggs’ leadership, won a David L. Adams Apple Award from the College Media Association (CMA) for last year’s book, “Overflow.”
To enter for the same award this year, the team was required to attend the annual conference in New York City.
“I got to thinking,” Downs said, “‘What would it look like for Alexa and me to go to New York?’”
Downs, who has served as an advisor for the Ilium on and off since the mid-90s, felt that Twiggs’ faithful leadership qualified her for a fun trip to the city.
The opportunity would also allow them to gain valuable exposure as a staff, receive awards and connect with staff from other college publications from around the country.
After securing funding for the experience, the two crafted a proposal outlining a presentation they would give at the convention.
“We turned that in, what, a couple months ago?” Downs said. “And we never heard anything back, so we didn’t think we were gonna do it. And then about two weeks ago they were like, ‘So your presentation is on Thursday morning.’”
Downs and Twiggs joined over 700 attendees from 135 schools at the conference. They participated in the keynote sessions Friday and Saturday and spent time in their hotel on Broadway to go over their presentation, which took place Saturday morning.
Downs said the presentation narrowed in on team building, intentional leadership, hiring and staff culture — things that the Ilium has excelled in, thanks to Twiggs’ intentionality.
“We’ve tried to make it feel more like a family, really focusing on the culture and making it a safe space for team members,” Twiggs said, “making the office a space where people want to come and hang out and do their work, making the editors very approachable and personable and overall trying to engage people beyond their skillsets and what talent they’re bringing to the table.”
Attention to detail, layout design proficiency, copywriting and photography skills all contribute to a strong yearbook — but that’s not all that’s important.
Twiggs identified passion as the number one thing that she values in her staff members.
“We quickly learned that the most talented people in the room don’t always make for the best staff,” Twiggs said.
This year, the Ilium team is committed to the same things that the yearbook staff has been pursuing for decades: preserving history and providing students, faculty and alumni a chance to look back on the moments that shaped their time at Taylor.
Downs and Twiggs felt that their audience was engaged with their presentation and took a lot from it.
“One of the things (Twiggs) said that I saw people writing down was … ‘I can train writing and I can train design and I can even train photography, but I can’t train enthusiasm and I can’t train humility,’” Downs said.
Last year’s book received several awards, two of them being third place best feature spread and honorable mention best feature photography. The team is anticipating even more success with the book they are currently working on, “Horizon.”
Ultimately, Twiggs is looking forward to passing the baton on her position as editor-in-chief, along with Downs, who is retiring this spring after 39 years at Taylor.
The Ilium staff will have several open positions, including design, photography, writing and leadership roles. Send inquiries to dndowns@taylor.edu or alexa_twiggs@taylor.edu.
