Where Are They Now? Featuring: Lizz Dawson

We’re interviewing alumni who worked on The York Review in the past to see how they’re doing after graduation. Today’s interview is with Lizz Dawson, an alumna of York College.

When did you attend York College and what was your major and minor

2013–2016; Professional Writing; Creative Writing minor

While working on the York Review, what were your titles and what did you do?

I was the co-editor of the 2015 issue of the York Review with Kaila Young. We oversaw the production and made sure everything was on task and on time, read every single submission and chose the final finals at the end, helped with whatever needed help. We put our soul into that magazine last year, that’s what we did!

What made you interested in working on the York Review?

It’s what we had for creative work at York College, and I wanted to get involved with anything along those lines. Plus, I saw so much potential in the magazine, even though it had been pretty neglected for awhile, and I wanted to try to make people care about it again.

What did you want to do when you were in college? (dream job, or a general idea of what you wanted to do.)

I wanted to get out of college. No, but really, my dream job is to be a memoirist/poet and to be recognized not just as a great writer, but as someone who’s writing helps people. Basically, my dream is to be the love child of Cheryl Strayed and Mary Karr.

What have you been doing since you graduated?

Sadly, I’ve been doing a lot of working in restaurants. But I also just got back from a solo, almost-month of backpacking through Thailand where I started the blog I’ve been talking about for years.

Have you been working on other creative works recently?

Yes, finally. After feeling totally blocked off/burnt out for a couple months after graduation, I’ve been writing again. Poetry here and there, but now the blog: toourdepths.com. That’s the most recent thing, though it’s still under major construction.

How does it feel to see the magazine on the other side now that you’re no longer working on publication?

It’s really cool. I was so proud when I saw the finished issue this year, blown away by the design and all of the events and that everyone just really started building this amazing thing from the foundation we set down last year. But kind of jealous as well. I miss helping with it. It was the highlight of my last year at York, and it meant so much to me.