Senior to Senior Series: Lilly Kubit
Hello! My name is Eliza Moore, and I am a senior at Chatham University. In my opinion, making friends is the most important part of a college experience, and the first are always the most special. In this interview, Lilly Kubit, one of my best friends since the very first week of our First Year, shows a snapshot of what their Chatham experience has looked like.
Name: Lilly Kubit (she/they)
Major: Communications with a concentration in Journalism with minors in Business and Photography
Hometown: Mount Lebanon, PA
Instagram: @lilly.kubit
What made you choose Chatham?
I wanted to stay close to home and wanted to have a campus that also felt similar to my hometown. Chatham’s campus feels secluded from the city enough, but also has the ability to get on the bus and be downtown in 20 minutes. I really liked that about campus, plus it had the program I was interested in too!
How did you get started with photography?
From a young age I would always look at National Geographic magazines that my dad would get and remember this specific picture of a snow leopard that really encapsulated me. After seeing that photo, I subconsciously knew photography was something I wanted to do. I started stealing my mom's camera and then always taking pictures on my iPhone and then in my sophomore year of high school I got my first dslr camera, which really pushed me to the next level. I taught myself how to shoot pictures with a real camera and how to edit on my own; by the time I got to Chatham I was able to breeze through classes. I did learn some formal skills from an apprenticeship I did at Allegheny Intermediate Unit, but this was the only prior training I received before coming to Chatham.
Where did you complete your internships?
I am now onto my third internship. My first was in between my sophomore and junior of college with the public information office in Mount Lebanon. I got to work with the office to create Mt. Lebanon magazine, which essentially is a magazine sent to homes in the area to inform them of different things happening in the community. As they are also the office that does public relations in Mount Lebanon, I also got to learn public relations in addition to magazine writing and improving my photography.
Between my junior and senior year, I did an internship at the Tribune Review through the Pittsburgh Media partnership and Point Park Center for Media and Innovation. At this internship I was a photographer throughout all of Pittsburgh, Tarentum, Alle-Kiski valley, and Greensburg. I got to photograph events from Bernie Sanders canvasing for Summer Lee to frog jumping and ending with photographing Metallica, which was super cool [I agree, Lilly!].
Now I am Public Source, which is a nonprofit enterprise story publication center that focuses on telling stories that the daily news can’t really dive into. We are currently doing a story on the RedZone, which is about the increase in assaults on college campuses between October and Thanksgiving. I work with my boss, the head photographer, on how to create compelling images for a story such as this.
What led you to be so involved on campus?
A lot of my involvement stems from how involved I was in high school; I was the drum major of the marching band and knew I wanted to continue to do leadership positions, which is what led me to become an orientation leader. For all my other positions, I knew I wanted to have experiences of leadership and involvement in a college setting. I’m the visual editor for the Communique and I always say that student journalism is the perfect place to learn how to be a journalist because the smaller atmosphere is a lot more forgiving and allows you to learn and make mistakes as you go. I started as just a photographer for the Communique, and they promoted me after my first year to be the visual editor and I have been in that position ever since. After learning that I did really enjoy working with Chatham students and enjoyed photojournalism, I applied to be an Event Photographer on campus, which allowed me to interact with campus even more and continue to pursue my photography.
What was your biggest challenge as a student?
Not to be cliché but finding my place during Covid was very hard. I know the class below us got it the worst by having their senior year ripped away, but we all definitely were affected. I felt that I never really found my place or my footing until I got to college and just as I was getting comfortable with myself, it all got ripped away. Learning to adjust while also only having a year and a half of a true college experience was difficult. Other challenges would just be balancing my work life with my school life. This is especially true now that I’m doing freelance, another internship, staying involved with the Communique, and just finished as the event photographer for the Mt. Lebanon marching band. Balance has been a struggle, but we’re getting through it!
Did your plans change at all throughout your college experience?
I would say that I changed during college, but my plans did not. I’m a very anxious person so I knew coming into college that I needed to know exactly what I wanted to do. I did so much job research and was also a part of my high school’s newspaper for a semester, which lead me to know that Journalism was exactly what I wanted to do. So, while that didn’t change for me, I grew a lot with how I process emotional difficulties and got to be introduced to new art techniques that I didn’t know I loved before, such as printmaking and collages. College also helped me to become more confident with my work- I sell my photography at the art markets on campus now, which we have another one coming soon: The Holiday Art Market. So, while my plans didn’t change, college helped me to adapt and get to the point where I will be able to fully fulfill those dreams.
What would be your perfect job?
I would love to be a globetrotting photojournalist; just travel the world and document my experience, if someone would pay me to do that it would be great. I also would love to be a photography professor someday. I do plan to go back to school and get my masters after I get a few years of experience under my belt and hopefully someone can sponsor that for me. The goal would be to then start adjunct teaching and eventually become a permanent professor.
What are your plans after graduation?
I currently am still job searching. I will have my Public Source internship until December, when I graduate. As I have a business minor in addition to my communications major, I’m looking at jobs from social media to PR to even marketing jobs; I’m just seeing what’s out there right now!
Do you have any advice for new or potential incoming students?
I’m going to be cliché again but get involved. This is the time when you can really grow and explore new things without it really costing you anything. College really is a great time to go out and do things, meet people, and make connections. You’re living on your own for the likely the first time and get to decide your path, so decide it! So many clubs are always looking for new people, like the Communique, and campus jobs are great opportunities as well. You can make money while also meeting great mentors and learning new skills. Absorb as much as you can while you're here.
If you or a friend would like to participate in the Senior to Senior series, please reach out to Eliza.Moore@chatham.edu. We want to hear about your journey at Chatham University!