Maria Baugh, managing editor of Food Network Magazine, spoke to Auburn University students at Journalism Day on Nov. 7, 2014.
"The University is so happy to have Maria Baugh here," said Jennifer Adams, director of the School of Communication and Journalism. "She has worked at many magazines such as InStyle, Glamour, Teen People, House and Garden and more."
Baugh, who graduated from Auburn University's College of Liberal Arts with degrees in pre-law and journalism in 1987, said magazines were something she always loved.
Baugh said she began reading a Reader's Digest she found at her grandparents house.
"I fell in love with that magazine," Baugh said. "They got a subscription when I was around 9 or 10. It was something that I couldn't get enough of."
According to Baugh, she and one of her best friends started their own magazine when they were 13.
"We called our magazine The Enlightenment," Baugh said. "I have no idea where we got that name from, but it was the seventies, and my friend and I thought it was cool. Unfortunately the magazine folded after one issue because we had bad circulation and no ads."
When it was time for Baugh to start deciding what she wanted to do in college, she said she knew she loved writing, but her family wanted her to pursue a degree that would be more practical.
"My family is very linear and very literal," Baugh said. "Basically that translated into asking how are you going to make money, and making money meant law school."
Baugh came to Auburn and finished her first degree, but she said the day she graduated in pre-law she knew she made a very big mistake.
After going with one of her classmates to pick up her diploma, she said she had a huge revelation and realized what she wanted to do with her life.
"I literally passed a sign in the Haley Center with the world journalism printed on it," Baugh said. "It was like, 'That's it, that's what I should have done. I've blown it.'"
After going home following graduation, Baugh said she decided to take a quarter off and decide what to do. She decided to come back to Auburn and pursue a degree in journalism.
Baugh graduated with her second degree and landed an internship at The Gulf Shores Islander and then with Covington News.
There she met a fellow Auburn graduate who encouraged her to come to New York City.
From changing jobs and weaving through positions in New York, Baugh said she knew that she was going to have to move around in the industry to move up.
Baugh also said taking a job that you don't know how to do is completely acceptable, because that is where she found her success as a managing editor.
"Take a chance," Baugh said. "You need two out of three things. You need to like where you are, like the people you are with and have a job that you love. If you have two of those, you will be fine."
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