Institutional knowledge refers to a collective understanding that accumulates over time within an organization. This foundation is needed to continue a stable organization on campus. UT Alumni Annie Lyons, founder of music publication Afterglow, and UT Alumni Dana Tran, founder of fashion publication Hook’d Magazine, worked tirelessly to create student media outlets that outlive their university experience. Looking back, they reflect on their ambition to create safe spaces for all creatives to express themselves and gain experience in a field they love.
“It's been six years, and I truly am not a part of Afterglow anymore, and I don't know what they're doing, but they're rocking it, ” Lyons said. “We (Selome Hailu, UT Alumni and co-founder of Afterglow, and Lyons) wanted it to be its own thing that people can put their own stamp on.”
Lyon’s journey began at the McCombs School of Business, where she quickly realized that wasn’t her path. After transitioning to engineering, she discovered a creative outlet through Orange magazine, which has since merged into BurntXOrange. At Orange, she fell in love with writing and telling stories about music.
“Student media helped me figure out what I wanted to do,” Lyons said. “So I just wanted to create a bigger platform for other students.”
Not only did Lyons want to create this platform for other students, she wanted to create a platform that would highlight the topic she wanted to write about most: music. Orange included a music section, but she felt UT was missing something focused on music and covering the diversity of music that exists.
“With prioritizing inclusivity, that meant prioritizing covering a rich diversity of artists and genres, which was reflected in the pitches we approved, the musicians we collaborated with for live shows, the songs we selected for our weekly playlist, and the messaging we passed down to editors and staffers,” Lyons said. “We wanted to ensure that Afterglow wasn't covering just white indie rockers and made that a central value for the publication.”
Before graduating in 2020, Lyons worked on the foundations of Afterglow and handed the reins to the next editor-in-chief. That same year, on the other side of campus, the idea for Hook’d came to Tran, a business major, out of a need to establish a creative space.
“I created something that could nurture that community and build on UT Austin's opportunity set for creatives, and not only creative business majors, but people from different walks of life,” Tran said. “Hook’d is people from all different backgrounds coming together because they are interested in something, and then working together to create such amazing magazines.”
Upon arriving at UT, Tran didn’t have creative experience but had a strong desire to express herself. This drive led her to deep reflection and the eventual creation of Hook’d.
“I realized a lot of students on campus probably suffer from this exact thing, where they're like, ‘I have an interest in fashion, I just don't have experience and I don't have a portfolio. Where can I start?’” Tran said. “So, I built Hook’d on that mission to expand opportunities for students at all experience levels to come in, gain a platform to practice creative skill sets, and then turn it into a tangible publication that they can add to their portfolios and use to advance their careers.”
Although these two media organizations have filled gaps in fashion and music coverage, Lyons said there is always an opportunity to find an opportunity in student media for more diversity and niche publications to exist around campus.
“I would say, if you're thinking about starting something, you should just jump in with two feet and then learn to swim,” Tran said. “There's never a right or wrong time to start something. As long as you have a core mission in mind and a core value set that you're able to go to every time you have doubts, then you will be successful.”