Liz Perle graduated from McGill in 2008 with a degree in English and Political Science. She is now living the dream in New York City working as the assistant to the editor-in-chief at Seventeen Magazine. In an interview with the Tribune, she elaborates on the highs, lows, and craziness involved in working at one of the world’s most popular magazines.

Can you describe a typical day for you? What type of tasks do you have as assistant to the editor?

I am the captain of our editor-in-chief’s schedule. Pretty much every document going into and out of her office goes through me first. I do a ton of administrative work for the magazine as well, but I won’t bore you with that.

In my “spare” time, I edit pages for the magazine, pitch stories, write for the website, cover events, and participate in brainstorming sessions.

I would describe my typical day as an adrenaline rush from the moment I walk in to the moment I leave, in the best way.

My colleagues joke that I know more about how a magazine works than anyone else here, and in some ways, they’re probably right. I get an amazing inside view into the interactions between all of the departments. I pay close attention to everything, so I get a lot out of this job.

The editor in chief, my direct boss, is a huge role model for me, both personally and professionally. I basically want to be her when I grow up.

How did you land this job?

Before my final semester at McGill, it dawned on me that all I wanted to do in life was live in New York and be a magazine editor. I went online and applied to about 30-40 summer internships in NYC. I heard back from two. Seventeen was one.

I interned here while the American election was happening, and it became clear to me that teenage girls were interested in what was going on, but that no one was talking to them directly about it on any major forum. There was a great opportunity to create a space for them to talk about the election on their own terms. One of the web interns and I got together and put together a pitch, which ended up on the desk of the editor-in-chief and was ultimately approved. We started a political blog on seventeen.com, which I continued to manage remotely from McGill after I left my internship. It was a big success and I’m really proud of the work we did.

When a position opened up here in December, I was just graduating and still on their radar because of the blog. It was incredibly lucky timing.

I should also mention that I was fortunate enough to intern for the deputy editor of the magazine and she really became a mentor to me over my summer. She’s still my mentor. She really championed me as a candidate, and I owe this job to her.

What’s your favourite part of the job? Least favourite?

I head up a number of reader-based networks for the magazine, and I also run our internship program. A huge part of my job is to have long conversations with teen and college-age girls and relay what I learn from them to our staff. I love that part of it.

Least favorite? Fashion week. I have no idea how our editors get through it. Their schedules are insane.

An aside: As a feminist, I get a lot of flak for working at a fashion magazine. My perspective on the matter is that there aren’t many voices talking to young women as constantly and as thoughtfully as Seventeen does, and if I can contribute to that conversation in positive ways, I feel fortunate to be able to do so. Teenagers are an amazing age group. It’s incredibly humbling working with them.

Who are some of the people you get to meet? Celebrities? Who’s the meanest and nicest celebrity you’ve ever met?

My lips are sealed on celeb horror stories. Nicest? I screwed up Paris Hilton’s coffee once, and she pretended not to notice. That was nice of her.

I went to a small cocktail event recently and ended up informally chatting with Eric Bana and Joe Wright. I was pretty starstruck, which is something that doesn’t happen all that often anymore in this job for me. They were brilliant.

My 12-year-old self died when I interviewed the Backstreet Boys backstage before a recent concert. AJ even recorded a little shout-out video for my mom.

Do you have a celebrity crush, and what would you do if he or she walked into the office?  

Hillary Clinton. What would I do if she walked in here? Pee my pants.

What’s the most awkward moment you’ve ever had with a celebrity?

I ran into one of the stars of the new Star Trek movie at a party, and decided it would be a great opportunity to talk to him about the TV show and my mild William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy obsessions. Strangely, he wasn’t as excited as I was about it.

What are some of the perks of the job?

I don’t really pay for beauty products, clothes, or accessories anymore. That’s nice, but I think my friends enjoy those perks more than I do.

If I wanted to, I probably could fill my schedule with an event every night of the week. Being part of such a big brand definitely helps with access, but even more than that, being young, being in NYC, and being in media in general is its own perk. There is so, so much happening all the time to take advantage of.

How has your McGill experience proven beneficial (or not) while in New York? Do you ever reminisce about your time at McGill?

Some of my closest friends from McGill are in NYC, and I have some new McGill grad friends that I’ve met through alumni networks here. And obviously all I know about life, the universe, and everything came from my time at the Trib.

If you’d like to dip your toe in what Liz does for a living, there’s a game on seventeen.com where you can pretend to be the assistant to the editor-in-chief and see if you can survive. Follow Liz in her adventures at Seventeen Magazine on Twitter at @lizperle or @seventeenmag.