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School of Journalism and New Media
University of Mississippi

Elizabeth Beaver, Editor-in-Chief, The Ole Miss

Posted on: May 7th, 2013 by

By Jane Lloyd Brown

Photo by Mikki Harris

Photo by Mikki Harris

With The Ole Miss yearbook heading to print and final touches completed, one would expect Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Beaver to enjoy a break from the Student Media Center’s hectic buzz.

Instead Beaver, a senior journalism major and art minor, hustles around the center giving direction on design projects and offering advice to student writers.

The editors on Beaver’s staff include Miriam Taylor, design editor; Alex Edwards, photo editor; Jake Thompson, sports editor; and Callie Daniels, writing editor.

“It’s madness all the time,” Beaver said of working with her team in the SMC. “We’re like a big rolling circus.”

The yearbook process naturally works at a slower pace than the other media components because the staff do not have daily deadlines.

This year, the staff wanted to get the book done early so that they would have time to fix any mistakes before the publication went to print.

With Beaver also juggling schoolwork with a barista job at High Point Coffee and getting engaged this year, finishing the yearbook before deadline was difficult.

Working from the bottom up in the SMC, starting as a photographer and then becoming design editor, gave Beaver a different perspective on problem-solving and troubleshooting. Knowing where the problems lie before getting started gave her a leg up in the production process.

Writing Editor Callie Daniels praised Beaver’s leadership.

“She always made herself available to anyone on the staff,” Daniels said. “She put a lot of herself into the annual this year, spending quite a few weekend nights and sometimes all-nighters on it. She even worked on it over the Christmas break and the spring break.”

Beaver and the rest of the yearbook staff changed the book to a horizontal layout, which she believes will enhance it.

Jake Thompson, sports editor, said, “She is like a dog with a bone. Once she has a hold of something, she isn’t going to let go until she feels the job is done and done well. I couldn’t imagine working under anybody else.”

Beaver graduates in December. She has started a wedding stationary business out of her home.

“My dream goal is to stay at home and hang out with my dogs and make pretty stationary,” Beaver says of her plans after graduation.

Her job as editor-in-chief of the yearbook taught her a lot about the kind of career she wants.

“I thoroughly enjoy this experience, and I think I’m very good at it, but I think if I could do without the daily stress of the newsroom I would,” Beaver said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so honored to be in charge of something, or so proud of the end product we are going to be able to give everyone.”

Jane Lloyd Brown is a senior in the Meek School. She is from Baton Rouge, La.