Ava: Hello Season Magazine digital readers! It's Ava here. I am back with another installment of Off the Record, and today we are interviewing Thaja Thangjam, the Director of Internal Relations for Season Magazine.
Thaja: Hi, I'm Thaja.
Ava: Thank you for letting me interview today.
Thaja: Of course, I'm excited!
Ava: I would like to start by asking you, what originally drew you to Season? Would you say that it's because you're a creative person, or was there a different reason that got you invested in this in the first place?
Thaja: I first found out about Season through Instagram and social media when I was a freshman, and I thought it was a really cool organization on campus because there weren’t really any other student organizations that produced fashion or culture magazines. And as someone who is in Kelley and does a lot of non-creative work, such as computer, finance, and business classes, I wanted to kind of explore other aspects of my interests. I've always been pretty interested in fashion, so I thought that Season was a super cool thing that I could get involved with.
Ava: I strongly believe that it's a great artistic outlet if you don't have a creative major.
Thaja: Definitely.
Ava: So currently you're in a new role. I mean a new role for you, and kind of a new role for Season — Director of Internal Relations. How would you describe that position? And what would you say is the most fulfilling part of it for you?
Thaja: Yeah, this role just got added onto Season this semester, and it's kind of a combination of Director of Finance and Events Planning. I manage the budget for the magazine, I collect all the dues, and I request funds from the Media School. So I do all of the normal activities that a finance director would do, but then we also added on the events planning responsibilities. I work with the events planning team to plan some bonding events over the semester, such as the Halloween party that we just had. We also plan the launch party, the launch after party, and we try to get some fundraising events in as well. I really enjoy having a combination of these responsibilities. Previously, I was the website and database manager, so we added on database management to this position as well, which means I also update the model database and the season roster. It's been really great.
Ava: So you really do a little bit of everything. You are the glue that holds this all together!
Thaja: Yeah, it’s for sure a little bit of everything. And I get to work with our Editor-In-Chief Emma Potter to coordinate finance and events planning tasks, so I still see a lot of what's going on in the magazine.
Ava: Very neat. You mentioned planning the Halloween party, which just occurred this past weekend. Can you tell us a bit about what goes into planning an event like that for Season and just take us through the process?
Thaja: Yes! About a month ago, I had a meeting with the events planning team, which consists of four members that have been super awesome with helping me plan different events. We had a meeting where I delegated a couple tasks out. The team divided up the responsibilities of sending out the RSVP invite link, creating ideas for decorations, planning activities, and selecting snacks and beverages. You know, everything that goes into planning a fun party. And then we sent out invitations so that we could get a head count to prepare for shopping. And then the week of, me and Emma went and bought decorations for the event. Honestly, it's not a very hard process, but it is really fun.
Ava: That does sound fun.
Thaja: Yeah, it was, and I think it had a great turnout.
Ava: It did! You should be proud of it. It was fantastic.
Thaja: Thank you. It was such a good time. I think a lot of people in Season have been wanting some more organization-wide bonding activities. So it was nice to get the chance to meet people in other departments. I think a lot of members only know the people within their own department, so it was cool that people got to branch out.
Ava: I feel like Season has grown so much as an organization, and there's so many new people every year that, yeah, we don't all know each other. So we probably needed something like that. And the costumes were quite iconic, too.
Thaja: Yeah, they were amazing.
Ava: Thaja was Charlie XCX.
Thaja: There were a lot of pop stars.
Ava: I was the Statue of Liberty with a Chappell Roan undertone.
Thaja: We saw a lot of Saltburn, too.
Ava: Yes, we saw some Saltburn. Some of our friends were other pop girlies like Olivia Rodrigo and Tate Mcrae.
Thaja: There were also a lot of cute little animals.
Ava: Yes, some great animals.
Thaja: I mean, for a fashion magazine, you obviously expect the costumes to be top tier, and they really were.
Ava: Agreed, it definitely did not disappoint. Looking ahead, what can we expect next from the event planning team?
Thaja: This week we will have to start planning for the launch party to celebrate the Fall/Winter 2024 issue release. The process will probably be pretty similar to the Halloween party, except the main launch party event is going to be in the Media School, so that will have to be organized with Emma and our advisor. The after party will be pretty similar to the Halloween party, I'm assuming. So be on the lookout for that. It's gonna be super fun.
Ava: Is there gonna be a costume component for this after party?
Thaja: Maybe there will be something related to the shoots that we created this semester. I know that last semester’s after party included themed decorations, foods, and beverages related to the shoots.
Ava: Oh yeah, I loved that!
Thaja: We'll likely do something along those lines again.
Ava: Exciting.
Thaja: Yeah.
Ava: Finally, with everything you've got going on, what's next for you, in or out of Season? What's something you're excited about on the horizon?
Thaja: I mean, as a senior, it’s a somewhat scary time, because everyone's gonna be parting ways in a few months.
Ava: Okay, that's sad!
Thaja: But I will be moving to New York next year to start my job, which I am excited about. I know that I said that my career focus was pretty non-creative right now, but eventually I definitely want to pursue something within fashion in the future. I feel like my Season experience was a great combination of business-related projects and creative fashion experiences.
Ava: That is extremely exciting. I can’t wait to see all that you do. Well, thank you for letting me interview you today.
Thaja: Thanks for having me! You learned something fun about me.
Ava: Yes, we learned a little bit more about the mysterious Thaja!