The Women of Lex Line’21

Since the start of The Lexington Line in 2015, our LIM student-led magazine has been predominantly run by women. With every team that is formed to make Lex Line happen, there are empowering, strong, and talented women behind the scenes creating amazing projects and holding everything together. In honor of Women’s History Month, we asked the women on our staff to share a photo of themselves and what Women’s History Month means to them. Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate women so let’s celebrate our Lex Line gals. Without further ado, I give you The Women of Lex Line 2021.

Image designed by Khayla Biscoe

Directors

Samantha James,

Editor-in-chief

“Women's History Month is a time to celebrate and support women (which should happen year-round). But it's also a time to reflect and see how far we have come and how far we still have to go. Women are the backbone of everything, and we run the world. There's a song by Helen Reddy titled "I Am Woman," and in this song, she sings, "I am strong, I am invincible, I am a woman." We are all strong and invincible. We are all women.”

Khayla Biscoe,

Creative Director

“In my 21 years of life, I continue to grow and be influenced by the women around me. They continue to be a force that shapes the way of our society with their strength, courage, intelligence, and kindness that we all rely on. Every day I am so thankful to have my mother who I have accomplished so much because of her support and wisdom that I value so much as I continue to walk through life. Because of her, I have learned what it really means to be a woman; someone who can make the impossible possible and continue to use our morality for good.”

Kally Compton, Editorial Director

“For me being a woman is a challenge but, it’s a challenge we all share. I have a community with women. We can learn from each other, learn about our differences, and what makes each of us unique. I just adore how women can be so inspiring and empowering to each other just by being themselves. I am so happy to be on this amazing team and celebrate Women’s History Month with such amazing creatives.”

Tessa Aldridge, Managing Editor

“Women's History Month is special to me because it's a time to celebrate ALL women. No matter their sexuality, race, nationality, etc.”

Sam Morim, Web Director

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” - Audrey Hepburn 

“In March, we celebrate Women’s History Month. A month to celebrate the women in your life, including yourself. Take this month to appreciate yourself and find your inner beauty, we all need time to appreciate our intangible qualities. Spread love. Spread kindness. Spread the message of equality, for all.”

Sofia Naranjo,

Fashion Director

“Women’s Month to me means to completely and unconditionally love and accept myself. It’s about being fearless, confident, and secure with whatever I set my mind to. It’s about understanding and supporting one another in our daily lives. It’s about sharing and connecting our divine feminine energy.”

Rebecca Riggio,

Beauty Director

“Women’s History Month is a month to recognize and admire the strength of all women, the hardships we’ve overcome throughout time, and to cherish the women in each of our lives. There’s nothing more empowering than women supporting women.”

Mila Bennett,

Photography Director

"I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. …We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back." Malala Yousafzai

“This quote resonates with me because I've been told that I wouldn't be able to do certain things or reach my goals because I'm a woman. My confidence and ambition always made people uncomfortable, but I used that negative energy to push myself forward. Every time someone told me I could do something, I proved them wrong. And these days I'm starting to be more vocal about my experience to inspire others to push through as well. As a photographer, I work in a male-dominated industry and must work thousand times harder for respect. Every win for me is a win for all women, I want to be a trailblazer.”

Jenna Filingeri, Styling Director

Maya Angelou - “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it" —Maya Angelou

“We are burdened with the challenges of just being women and in turn, makes us stronger than the rest. I am inspired by my beautiful family, my mom, and two sisters. They show me how to be independent, strong, and powerful every day.”

editors

Kanika Talwar,

Fashion Editor

“Two of the major women who inspire me are fashion journalists Robin Givhan from The Washington Post and Vanessa Friedman from The New York Times. As the only person to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fashion Criticism, Robin Givhan is formidable with witty, easily digestible writing about fashion as timely cultural criticism. Vanessa Friedman is critically acclaimed for her pragmatic writing approach to the fashion industry while weighing in the impact of socio-political and socio-economic issues that fashion has in society today. Both women have led the charge in reporting on the fashion industry in nuanced and thought-provoking ways; I try to emulate the duo daily within my own work.”

Emily White, Lifestyle Editor

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from own” - Audre Lorde

I love this quote and Audre Lorde because even though every woman is different, we must all band together to gain the respect and equal opportunities that we deserve. We are all one and when we come together we are unstoppable. Lorde reminds us that as women, one is not truly liberated until we all are.

Scout O’Donnell, Music Editor

“The older I get, the more I begin to realize the weight women carry in this world every single day. It is because of my great-grandmother (whose sweater I’m wearing) that I discovered my love for fashion. She exclusively wore Chanel suits her entire life and that piqued my interest in fashion at a very young age. I still call my grandmother my muse to this day, and even at 90 years old she is chicer than I will ever be. Now, at 21 years old, I study Fashion Merchandising at LIM, run my own non-profit styling business, and work every single day to inspire future generations just the way my grandmothers did once before, many, many years ago.”

Elizabeth Corso,

Beauty Editor

Women's History Month is the solidarity for all to celebrate the cultural, social, economic, and political achievements of women over time. For me, this day is an opportunity to admire all the female role models in my life that have resulted in the appreciation and great respect for the strength, hard work, motivation, confidence, and discipline they have shown me, that have shaped me into the woman I am today.

“Dream with ambition, Lead with conviction...And we will applaud you every step of the way.” - Kamala Harris

Elysse Paula, Assistant Beauty Editor

When I think about Women’s History Month the one quote that always comes to mind is from my favorite spoken word poet Blythe Baird:
“Watch me build an empire from the ashes of everything that tried to destroy me.”
I think this quote perfectly embodies womanhood because from birth you are told to be, look, act, and think a certain way, and even then the powers that be are just waiting to tear you down. Everything that tries to hold me back or destroy me is just fodder to my fire and drive to rise above my station.

Ashanty Rivera, Accessories Editor

“Women’s History Month makes me remember how the women in my life have inspired me to become who I am today. My mother, who taught me to always cook with love, and to do whatever will make me happy. My older sister, who has always been my rock whether it was for advice, or help when I needed her the most. My little sister, who teaches me something new every day, and is never afraid to speak her mind. They have made an impact on my accomplishments, my look on life, and so much more. Women’s History Month is when women get to celebrate women, and the changes we make in the world!”

Sabrina Stott, Culture Editor

To me, Women’s History Month means uplifting and supporting all women. The woman I look up to the most is my mother, she always perseveres no matter what the circumstances are and she inspires me to achieve my goals. Women’s History Month is about celebrating the past and discussing what we still have to accomplish to guarantee equality for all women.

Victoria Villano, Web Editor

“Whether it is International Women’s Day, or any random day of the year women need and should be celebrated for all that we do, and all that we have accomplished. I am proud of all that I have accomplished and even prouder to say I did it as a woman. Whether it be my 3.8 GPA, being a web editor for the Lexington Line, etc. no one can ever take those accomplishments away from me. One woman who I look up to is Ashley Graham. She is an advocate for loving your body, and embracing the skin you come in. She changed the modeling industry, and the beauty industry for women everywhere by becoming the first plus-sized model to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. I can only hope to change the world for women everywhere the way she changed mine.”

PHOTOGRAPhy

Evelyn Mazza, Photographer

“Women’s History Month means honoring and supporting women who are strong; physically, mentally, and emotionally. The women that inspire me are the women in my own family, that are entrepreneurs and small business owners who don’t give up on their dream or passion.”

Marketing

Kash Khemlani,

Social Media Manager

“You do not just wake up and become the butterfly—growth is a process” ― Rupi Kaur

“Rupi Kaur, the poet, artist, and performer inspires me. Her poetry conveys her readers with powerful emotions through simple language and quotes. Her words as well as her famous book, Milk and Honey have taken me through a journey of sharing the experiences of love, femininity, and self-love. Her simplicity in her writing style gets directly to the point which helps me connect with her words with an easy and quick read for daily motivation.”

Angelika Cwiklewski, Assistant Marketing Director

“The most amazing part about women? Not the visible beauty, but the strength that each of us carries within. We are worth more than anything on this earth because of that.”

Graphic Design

Sushani Devang, Designer

Serena Williams said—"Every woman's success should be an inspiration to another. We're strongest when we cheer each other on."

“I feel that it's such an empowering quote. We have come a long way, living in a world where women hype up each other rather than bringing them down.”

Happy Women’s History Month.

—The Lexington Line team