April 23, 2007
INTERVIEW: HEATHER SCHEIWE
FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ALIVE MAGAZINE!Hope and Inspiration for our Future.
Heather and I have only met over the phone. We are alumni of Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership (www.woodhull.org.) Every time I've spoken with her, I felt inspired by her passion, vision and drive to give other young women an outlet to let their voices be heard. A few months ago she was on a mission to find donors so that she could create a salary for herself and do Alive magazine full time.
Heather: I just got a salary for my Creative Director. She will start getting paid in June!
Samarra: Congratulations. That is so exciting. So, did you get a salary for yourself?
Heather: Well actually, I will be leaving for Grad School in the Fall.
Samarra: What! Oh my goodness! Congratulations!
Heather: Within a 24 hour time period, I received the news that I was being offered a scholarship to George Washington University in DC and a donor called to offer me the money I needed for a salary. I had to decide if I was going to use it to pay myself or go to Grad school and study Law & Women's Studies. It has worked out perfectly. I have had the magazine for three years and I feel saturated and full. I will of course still be on the board but the new Executive and Managing Director will be Jen Dotson. This has turned out to be freeing for both of us.
Samarra: Wow. Okay. So let me start at the beginning. You are 24 years old and you have had this magazine for 3 years. You have over 1000 subscribers and the magazine comes out once a year and has a 25 and younger rule which keeps the magazine in the hands of those that it was created for. What is happening on Sunday, April 29th?
Heather: On April 29th we will be launching our brand new website and Alive Magazine on line. We are having a launch party featuring live entertainment, an art gallery and silent auction here in Minneapolis. We want the magazine to reach more people-we want it to expand nationally and internationally. The online version will come out every quarter and then every year the physical magazine will be a "best of" issue.
Our mission for the magazine is twofold. First, we want to create media that we want to see. People complain about the media all the time but we want to convey that it is not this big scary thing that has to be forced on us, we can CREATE what we want to see. Secondly, and more of my focus, is helping young women gain job skills. We have 10 interns around the country and one in Canada. The most gratifying part of what I do is watching these young women walk in with their briefcases and suits and then seeing them, after we've talked for a little bit, take a breath and relax into themselves.
Samarra: What type of internships do you offer?
Heather: They create their own internships. I found that most internships required that you already have skills in the area you're interested in. That just didn't make any sense to me. I decided, okay, let's create these experiences that will edify young women. They can see and gain experience doing what they love and are passionate about and that will lead them where they want to go. I have an intern in Boston who has created an online art gallery, another that runs focus groups, and another that does editorials. We create it together based on their interests and passions. It is so exciting to see these women come alive.
Samarra: If a young woman was interested in applying for your internship program what would she need to do?
Heather: We offer internships in three semesters; spring, summer and fall. They would need to contact me and send their resume to contribute@alivemagazine.org. You can send them at anytime.
What has been most interesting about working with my interns is discovering what they leave off of their resumes. One young women was a hostess at a very nice restaurant. They found that she was very creative and ambitious and they asked her if she'd be interested in learning how to be an assistant chef. She was excellent and they hired her to do that several times each month. On her resume she only listed "hostess." Another young woman started and ran a graphic design club at her school for three years. She listed "cashier" at Target. It amazes me how these creative and smart young women are always more likely to put their "job" experiences and leave out their creative work that actually shows their willingness and experience to be innovative and take risks.
Samarra: Yes, we are quite afraid to reveal the core of who we are. What a gift you are providing-giving these young women the opportunity of learning the value of their experiences, creativity and passions. What has been your greatest challenge in running Alive magazine?
Heather: The greatest challenge was learning how much I didn't know and how much I wanted to know. Realizing that I couldn't do it all myself. For this magazine to happen, it'd have to be provided off of community and mentorships. That was the thread that ran through everything-community. Influential folks who came along that I'd like to thank are Sian Muir of St. Olaf's Entrepreneurial Center, Jenny Peterson, Marnie Kittleson, Lee Truer, Martha Franke, Heather Mattson, and every young woman who has participated in Alive so far. Thank you.
Samarra: Wonderful. How were you able to take the step and meet this challenge to accept the lessons from your community. Many of us see the challenge and when we realize what we don't know and that we can't do it ourselves, we stop? What made you take the step?
Heather: Curiosity. I didn't graduate with a business degree. I didn't know about marketing, how to lay out a magazine or do a fundraiser. But I wanted this magazine. A magazine for, by and about young women. I couldn't not learn it. The resources appeared. That is what I continue to find. The resources are always right there.
Samarra: Well, it sounds like you are about to embark on a new phase of your life's journey? What are your long term goals?
Heather: I don't know. I'm doing TODAY. I've never lived that way-the 20 year plan. I find something I'm interested in and pursue it to the core and then move on from there. I can say that I would like to be remembered for encouraging others to be free and pursue their passions. I would like to be involved in constitution building. To go to developing countries and be instrumental in having women's rights written into the constitution.
Samarra: Everytime I speak with you, you inspire me. You have such an openness and "break the mold" way of thinking. What do you attribute that to?
Heather: My father. If there was a pot of water boiling on the stove, he'd explain to me at six years of age, that the water, a liquid, could be a solid and/or a gas. He'd always discuss the different aspects of things with us. History, science, arts, music etc. I'm the oldest of two sisters. Tiffany is 22 and is getting married this May. She and her fiance have down syndrone and are highly functional and they are such an inspiration to me. My youngest sister is 19 and she goes to the University of Idaho. My father always encouraged us to do whatever we wanted to do. He believed one should know a little about a lot of things and pursue in depth those things you loved.
I also attribute the way I think to where I grew up. Although I've lived now in Minneapolis for 7 years I grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado. There is so much open, clear space. Across the plains and up into the mountains. My vision was of an open world-you could climb a mountain, walk 10 miles across a prairie or ride a combine (massive roto-tiller that cuts wheat crop) in a wheat field. In Minneapolis, the land isn't like that and it contributes to me feeling stunted.
Samarra: I feel as though I must ask you, as a young women, is there anything you would like to say in regards to the recent tragedy in Virginia and the overall violence that is taking place by youth against youth in our schools today?
Heather: I used to work for this older woman and we were very much alike. Hard working, driven and always working late hours. But she felt threatened by me, so she wouldn't engage. She'd just pile on more work. I eventually had to quit and she stated that she wasn't surprised because she felt the hostility between us. I didn't feel hostile towards her at all. I could see how much alike we were and if she could have embraced our similarites and differences and not seen them as a threat, I think we could have discovered how we could have complimented and helped each other. We are reflected by everyone around us. There are a lot of ourselves in eachother. Because we see our similarities and differences as a threat, we lash out. If we could see these traits to affirm eachother instead of being threatened by them, I think the violence would dissipate.
Samarra: Thank you. What is one of your fondest stories in your work with young women and Alive?
Heather: There was a young woman in Texas. Jen Dotson, the creative director that will be taking over my position at Alive, was conducting a seminar and asked the audience if anyone had some poetry. No one raised their hands. Jen caught the eye of one young women who when "caught" quickly looked away. After the seminar Jen went to her and asked her if she wrote poetry. The girl said it wasn't very good. Jen asked if she had any. The girl said she did-she kept all of her poems hidden away in a book that she had read over and over again. She was ashamed to ever show them. Jen and I read the poem and it was incredible. This girl was 14 years old and her work was amazing. We published it in one of our issues and she was thrilled to have it published. Many of these young women, expecially artists don't even acknowledge their talents. (Read Megan Litchowshi's poem at www.emotionalmoney.blogspot.com-scroll to the end of the interview)
At the launch party on April 29th we are going to have authors, artists and staff members share the experiences that they have had with Alive. It's going to be very exciting to hear everyone's story.
Samarra: I wish I could be there. But for those of us not in Minneapolis, is there any way we can contribute to your launch party?
Heather: Yes. If anyone would like to join Samarra Am Management and donate any of their goods or services for our silent auction we would greatly appreciate it. Every dollar is going to go directly toward helping more young women discover and have the confidence, experience and support to let their voices be heard. If interested please email me at heather@alivemagazine.org by Friday, April 27th. And visit our website at http://www.alivemagazine.org. But remember to visit it again after our official launch on Sunday, April 29th. We've made many exciting changes.
Samarra: Thank you so much for your inspiring work and vision.
Heather: We will also be launching Alive Arts Media-we don't have the official lauch date right now but it will feature women's work of all ages. We are collecting submissions now. I would love to hear from your readers. What makes you come alive? Please email me your responses to heather@alivemagazine.org.
Samarra: Thank you Heather. Speaking to young women like yourself is what makes me come alive!
Plan of Action: WHAT MAKES YOU COME ALIVE?
EVENT/WEBSITE:Alive Magazine's online launch
What: Celebration with a silent auction, live music and storytelling, and original art gallery
When: April 29, 2007 from 1pm-3pm
Where: University Technology Center, 1313 5th St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414
Who: Anyone who supports young women's creative talents
Please contact Heather if you'd like to donate items for the auction or art gallery.
email: info@alivemagazine.org
web: http://www.alivemagazine.org
This is me by Megan Litchowski
A star in the night
A cloud in the sky
A face in the crowd
Do I stand out?
Am I shining brightly?
Am I hiding behind the sun?
Do I blend in?
Can you see me?
I may not be the brightest
I may not be center stage
I may not be noticed
But I hope you can see me
I am not an athlete
I am not a genius
I am not famous
I am me
Searching for talent
Figuring out who I am
Where I belong
Where my place is in the world
I don't want to be the sun
I don't want to be a star
I don't want to be the moon
I just want to be me
What's in my heart?
Do you know?
In my heart
Is where you will find the real me
I'll give you the key
The key to my heart
If you're willing to accept
Accept me for me
This is me
This is who I am
Don't love me for who I appear to be
Love me for me
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