Every Friday by midnight, Christina Hara sends The New Yorker’s latest issue to the printer with words in place, layouts locked and pages perfected.
Just four years after graduating from the University of Virginia, the Class of 2021 alumna is an editorial producer at one of journalism’s most prestigious publications.
Her journey with magazine design began at V Magazine, a fashion and culture magazine produced by UVA students since 1999.
Hara sits at her desk in New York, where she has worked with The New Yorker’s editorial production team for more than three years. (Contributed photo)
On Oct. 8, she joined fellow V Magazine alumni Chanel Parks, a 2013 graduate and editorial strategist at Google, and Kate Snyder, Class of 2020 and marketing manager at Loeffler Randall, for a virtual panel hosted by the Career Center. The panel drew dozens of students interested in creative spaces.
UVA Today spoke with Hara about her path to The New Yorker.
Q. You transferred into UVA as a third-year student after studying business at Indiana University. Why switch to media studies and studio art?
A. After taking a graphic design class at a community college, I realized creative work was my passion. I found out that I really like layout design and making things that will go into print.
Media studies really interested me because it is a great intersection of culture and humanity. Those classes taught me how to think and analyze and be a smart reader in today’s digital media world, which was really great in shaping my mind.
Q. As a member of the V Magazine staff, you became a co-editor in just one year. What advice would you give to students trying to break into UVA’s creative community?
A. I researched what activities I wanted to do before coming to UVA, and V Magazine really stood out to me. I showed a lot of interest and passion for the magazine. I loved what it did and how much creative freedom we had with it. In my third year, I asked the current editor if I could be an editor for the next year. And luckily, she said, “Yes.”
Q. How did you land your job at The New Yorker?
A. Unlike most of my peers, I did not have a full-time job upon graduating. Many companies only hire when needed. I was determined to find a job in New York, so after graduation, I spent the following months applying for entry-level jobs in the design/creative industry.
