A tribute to our very own EIC

While our aesthetically pleasing Instagram is easy on your eyes, our website is stacked with relatable and easily digestible content brought to you by our impressive staff. Though seemingly effortless to compile, a lot of hard work goes on BTS, all of which is made possible by our very own editor-in-chief.

Cally Crocco ’20 was always an “art kid.” Despite briefly considering art school, Crocco wound up at Elon, the place that seemed to best cultivate the traditional college experience while also providing her with the artistic, graphic design curriculum she craved. 

Thanks to The Edge Magazine interest meeting, Crocco found a place where she could put that graphic design passion to work. 

“I initially looked at The Edge as a portfolio-building experience for graphic and layout design,” Crocco said, “but it's grown to be so much more than that.” 

For this design junkie, giving up her staff design and design chief positions for the less hands-on, “big-picture job” of editor-in-chief was not something she had foreseen herself doing. But after being approached by previous EIC Erin McDowell ’19, the idea of transforming The Edge and making its name more recognizable on campus was one that Crocco quickly fell in love with. 

“I got really excited about transforming The Edge, elevating it to a place where it’s more respected and recognized on campus, cultivating a more passionate staff and exposing myself to the editorial side of things because I had previously only done design.”

With the help of previous EIC and mentor Lindsey Lanquist ‘16, Crocco was able to target weak points and implement ways to improve them. First and foremost, Crocco implemented weekly mandatory meetings as a way to instill comradery into the staff, as she believes it’s motivating for the staff to know that others rely on the work they do. 

“I think the biggest thing is getting face to face as a team and being physically in the same room, and that’s something that we hadn’t been doing for quite a few semesters,” Crocco said.

Crocco also, as the perfectionist she deems herself to be, made sure to create an articulated plan for how each week and semester will fan out. Not only did this allow her to utilize spreadsheets (a.k.a. her “best friend”) but also anticipate roadblocks, schedule deadlines and organize photoshoots “in a way that works for people that doesn’t make them feel like they’re rushed or pressured,” she said. 

Her admiration of The Edge Magazine alumni who came before her went hand-in-hand with that motivation to take on a leadership position within the organization, hoping she could inspire others the way she had been inspired by them. 

“The older girls at the time were like role models to me. I really admired how far they had gone at Elon, what they had accomplished and the passion that they had for the magazine,” she said. “Even though by the time I got to Elon, we were an off-campus organization, the passion was so evident and I really saw myself following in their footsteps.”

Now, as editor-in-chief, Crocco manages it all. Whether she’s overseeing production timelines and photo shoots, keeping communication regular between different section teams, writing the cover story for the print issue or determining “the brand identity and creative identity” of the magazine, this #GirlBoss has her hands full. 

Luckily, she finds all of the work more than worthwhile. 

What makes her the proudest is being able to produce content that is different than anything else on campus. Crocco believes that the content generated by the staff is content that all college-aged females are already reading in national publications, however, it’s more relatable to Elon students because it was written by The Edge’s staff. 

Aside from this sense of pride, Crocco finds that the most rewarding part of being EIC is knowing that there are people who are just as passionate about the publication as she is.

“For me, the most rewarding part about being editor-in-chief is seeing all of the new members and current members get excited about The Edge. It reminds me of myself when I was a sophomore and all the opportunity that I saw for it.”

As she goes on to pursue a career, Crocco has one main hope for the organization that has given her so much. Well… maybe two… 

“Overall, my biggest hope for where The Edge is headed is a very long life with writers who are eager to become leaders and readers who are engaged, loyal followers even after graduation.”

But, she would be lying if she didn’t say she hopes the Instagram reaches 10,000 followers. (This is our way of telling you to follow … @theedgemag ;) )