NEED Magazine is an artistic, hope-filled publication focused on life changing humanitarian efforts at home and abroad. An independent magazine, NEED works with renowned photographers to profile individuals and organizations involved in the field of humanitarian affairs.

Interviewing former President Jimmy Carter
Given my age and nationality (Canadian), I quickly realized that I have a very different image and understanding of President Jimmy Carter. I have always seen Jimmy Carter as a humanitarian, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt rather than suit and red presidential tie. To me, President Carter has always been associated with the Carter Center and transnational ideals (such as peace-building) rather than politics and the Presidency. While I was preparing for the interview, however, it quickly became apparent how iconic of a figure President Carter is to so many people, for so many different reasons.

As someone desperate to get involved in the international development community, it was an incredible rush to talk with a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate about hope and the current state of humanitarian affairs. The interview was also very important for NEED Magazine, and is a testament to President Carter that he took the time and interest in such a young publication.

The most enjoyable part of the preparation was reading up on the achievements of President Carter and the Carter Center. The most stressful parts, were making sure that the digital recorders were working, and that all the coffee I consumed during last minute preparations didn't go right through my system. The interview itself was a lot of fun. For me, our discussion was an exhilarating and very humbling experience, and captured the former president's position as both politician and humanitarian.

Who else will be featured in the magazine?

For this first issue of the magazine, I was also able to interview U.S. Speedskater and 3-time Olympic medallist Joey Cheek (about his work with Right-to-Play), Gary Dahl, country director of the American Refugee Committee in Thailand, Scott Harrison, photojournalist for Mercy Ships and founder of the NGO Charity, amongst a number of other individuals and organizations.

In the premiere issue, we feature the work of people from all over the world. With regards to future interviews and stories, there are lots of exciting things happening at NEED, so stay tuned.

ow did you find out about the internship? Did a professor help you obtain it?

I first heard of the magazine through a friend of mine. She described the goal of the publication, showed me some of their work, and I was hooked. That day I contacted the magazine, requested an interview, and let NEED know that as long as they worked with Macalester, I could receive credit instead of pay.

The internship ended in August, and I have continued on as a full time employee with the magazine.

What made you pursue this type of work? What influenced you?

While I have never pursued a career in publications, my work in this field emerged as a result of interest in international development. When I arrived at Mac, I wanted to pursue a degree in development studies, but did not know where to start. After testing out numerous departments and majors, I met Professor Moseley in the Geography Department. Geography was the last thing I thought I would study in college. Howerver, after one class, I realized that I was hooked on political ecology.

Specific classes aside, Macalester empowered--perhaps forced--me to take a range of classes in different fields, which helped expand both my perspective and range of tools needed to succeed in the international development community.

What did your internship entail? What surprised you?

I initially began at NEED as a research intern. My job was to ensure that all of the facts and information collected from organizations during the story-building process were relevant and accurate. Working with only five other staff members, however, this quickly expanded to a much different role. After just two weeks of working with NEED, I was promoted to the position of managing editor of humanitarian affairs. With this title came the task of facilitating, researching and organizing information for 8 of the 10 stories featured in the premiere issue of NEED magazine. I was also given the opportunity to write the HEALTH and FUTURE sections of first issue.

It has been an incredible experience to be involved with a publication like NEED as it begins to take off the ground. Given NEED magazine's position as an emerging publication, I have had the opportunity to meet and interview individuals seen as leaders in the field of international development; people that I would never have had the opportunity to meet, let alone talk to for extended periods of time.

The most exciting part of my job, is taking the stories we decide to feature, figuring out how we can make it happen, and then doing it.

One of the most memorable experiences was my interview with former President Jimmy Carter. We were sitting around the office discussing possible interviews to close the premiere issue, when a co-worker mentioned Jimmy Carter. Rather than focusing on the fact that getting such a renowned figure to interview for an unknown magazine would be very unlikely, we decided to give it a shot. That day I got in touch with the Carter Center and started working towards an interview. I believe that the ease with which we arranged an interview with President Carter, is a testament to the quality, content and ideals of NEED magazine. Each day I get to speak with engaging individuals doing incredible work all over the world. It's exciting to hear people in the jobs and roles that I have dreamed about for the last decade supporting NEED and wanting to get involved in any way.

Why does it matter to be involved with a magazine that's trying to make a difference?
I can answer this question in two ways. First, I was raised in an environment that stressed the importance of making a difference. This was later re-enforced through my studies at the United World College of the Atlantic and Macalester. These experiences have shown me that each person must assess their own strengths, abilities and opportunities, and decide how these can be used --whether each day, once a week, or once a year--to positively influence others.

The 'selfish' answer, however, is that I love it; I love trying to make a (positive) difference in everything that I do. I believe NEED Magazine is a great medium for positive change, as we strive to not only raise awareness of challenging situations within the humanitarian community, but also to highlight those projects and people that bring hope to others.

Have you found yourself drawing on information/advice that you learned from Mac?

One of my most surprising realizations has been how well Mac prepared me for this job. Over the past three months I have consistently drawn on specific information obtained from classes, work as a teacher's assistant and my honor's thesis research experience. In addition to specifics, however, I feel that Macalester had a significant impact on the way that I think about and approach my work. Given the goal of the magazine and the quality of the publication, our small team has to cover all of the tasks needed to ensure that NEED not only goes to print, but is of the highest quality possible. This may draw on specific knowledge gained from Macalester, or sometimes simply the ability to make very strong coffee and to stay up for late night reviews.

My experience with NEED magazine has provided me with unparalleled exposure to the international humanitarian community. While I have learned a lot about the journalistic process, publishing, etc. the work has reinforced my desire to become directly involved in field work and continue my studies in the near future.